Get comfortable saying “I don’t know”

My first few years in practise, I would compete with myself to try and solve problems faster and faster. Once I realised I could manage 70% of the cases, I started to get excited about trickier cases. 

I often get asked by practitioners on “what to read?” or “where did I learn” this or that… What doesn’t get caught is perseverance. 

Cases which I couldn’t solve, I would book them as my last patient, and keep trying different things based on different theories and concepts and see if I could bring about a change. Sometimes I helped, and other times it was beyond my capability.

Those cases were humbling, because it allowed me to face into what I didn’t know in front of the patient. These were the patients that had already tried a few different practitioners, so they just appreciated that I was trying my hardest..

My advice to younger practitioners is.. Your first step is saying “I don’t know”

I love working with practitioners that have some confidence, or have thought things through.. As long as that confidence is softened with humility. It comes down to acknowledging what you don’t know.  

Who do we look to for advice and mentorship? Social Media?

It’s so important to be able to workshop cases with a mentor or a colleague, and picking up ideas from social media just doesn’t cut it.. It might help you with the odd exercise that you haven’t seen before, but It simply cannot give you the whole picture. 

We are all intrigued with what’s new, but unfortunately, what plagues the industry now is knowing exactly when to apply our knowledge.

I suppose it’s the difference between ‘knowing’ something and truly ‘understanding’ something. 

It takes guidance, repetition and time to understand how to put the pieces of the puzzle together.  

Ask questions, work with a mentor, pay a professional. 

I can safely say, my success has come from the simple fact that I just got comfortable saying “I don’t know” in a safe, free and frequent fashion.