Often times, one of the things that my therapy clients get frustrated by at some point in the process of working together is the fact that change does not happen as quickly as they would like. I am sure that you have experienced this frustration outside of a therapy office, too. Once we set our minds to making a change happen we want it to happen right away. Even instantaneously would be great. I have experienced this desire both personally and professionally, so I get it!
Yes, there are some smaller scale changes that we can make in a short period of time and see a relatively immediate payoff. These are often not the types of changes that bring someone to my office or to the point of being so frustrated by a lack of significant progress. I see clients who want to work on things like repairing relationships or change unhealthy patterns of managing their emotions. Yes, there are small changes that we can start working on to address these concerns right away, but it takes a while to get to the end goal and see as much progress as my clients want.
One of the things my clients and I often talk about is looking for the small signs of progress along the way. It is easy to get overwhelmed and discouraged if you miss those signs. I always encourage clients to recognize and celebrate their successes along their journey towards an end goal. If you are working on a goal outside of a therapist’s office, I encourage you to find support people to help you recognize and celebrate your progress, too.
Additionally, I often find myself reminding my clients that it took a while to reach the point that they realized they wanted to make a change and it may have taken even longer to decide to ask for support in making that change happen. Just as it takes time to reach the point where a change is needed, it also takes time to achieve our goals.
If you are working on a goal, keep on going!
You may also be interested in checking out Post Two in this series for motivational quotes from others.
Sarah
Please visit my Counseling page if you live in the Eagan, Minnesota area and want to discuss how counseling services may help you make changes in your life.
Patience has never been my strong point. I think we are all so greatly influenced by our society. Everything in our society is about moving at a fast pace. We need faster cars, run faster, walk faster, achieve faster, make money faster and the list goes on. It’s hard to be patient in our country. I love the saying, “Stop and smell the roses.” I think this is so true regarding therapy/counseling. I have spent about 20 years in therapy. Yes, that was a REALLY long time. I don’t think my situation is the norm by any means. However, as progress was made, I soon learned to just hang on for the ride and things would happen when they would happen.