Being a Supervisor…

…definitely has it’s challenges and tough moments.  There are long nights, hard conversations, sweat, tears, stress, etc.  I get it! However, it is one of the most rewarding and consistently joyful things I have ever done professionally.  I love having the opportunity and ability to influence someone and help them grow into the professional they want to be.  I love being there when they have questions and being able to answer them or learning new things along the way by finding the answer together.  I like being able to have conversations where we talk about the aspects of Music Therapy or business that often get swept under the rug or taken for granted.  AND I am absolutely thrilled whenever I see my intern succeed. The past few weeks, Alisabeth has displayed an incredible amount of growth (whether she realizes it or not) and in spite of some really challenging situations. Needless to say, I am beyond excited to see where the next few weeks lead! Mostly, I just wanted to take a moment to encourage anyone in a teacher, supervisor, student, or Read More

2016: Simplify, Streamline, Self-Care (part 3)

STOP!!!!  Stop what you are doing right now! Take a deep breath.  How did that feel?  Pretty great, right? Take another one. A slow, deep breath.  Remind yourself to simply breathe and take a second to step away from everything. Close your eyes and take another deep breath.  You’ve got this.  When I feel myself starting to tense up and my shoulders slowly creeping toward my ears, I remind myself to stop, take a moment. Breathe. Remember, to breathe. Previously, I’ve talked A LOT about self care in a series called “Love Yourself”.  However, it’s soooo important that I’m going to rehash it now. Take at least a little time out of every single day to…you guessed it… Do something (literally ANYTHING) for yourself. We get so consumed in the tasks we “have” to do every day that we simply forget to take care of ourselves.  We forget that in order to care for our families, help other people, or be successful at work, that we first have to take care of our selves.  We have to make sure our proverbially batteries Read More

Love Yourself: Self Care pt. 2

I’m going to be very honest: Last week was not great.  Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday had a lot of negative, saddening, and anxiety-filled happenings.  When that series of events was stacked on top of everything I already have going and all that I am working on (all positive, but lots of big changes and events coming up), I couldn’t handle it.  I was struggling to keep myself for crying all day Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  I felt panicky.  I felt down.  I was not myself. For those of you who know me even in the slightest, that’s not who I am AT ALL!  My mother-in-law even describes me as full of life and excited about everything.  I smile almost constantly. I knew I was in real trouble when I sat down for a meal with my husband on Wednesday and he said, “I’m worried about you.  You aren’t yourself”.   He suggested I take a few days off to re-center, deal with the events earlier in the week, and get back to myself. I listened.  I took a few days Read More

LOVE Yourself Financially & Value Your Services

Working in a client-centered field, my primary concern is generally the well being and satisfaction of the individuals I work with.  I want to make sure that their needs are met, that they are happy with the services they receive, and that they will continue to return in the future.    I try to be reasonable, fair, and understanding in all of our dealings, taking into account the human side of my work.  At the end of the day though, I have to remember that I am running a business and that I have to take care of myself and my needs.  I have to take care of myself financially so that I can continue to keep my doors open and provide the same level of services my clients are used to receiving. I have to remind myself: This is not only my passion, but my profession, my company, my livelihood. When figuring out how much I’m going to charge my clients, how much I want to pay my employees, how much I’m willing to pay in rent, I have Read More