Are You Just a Cog In The Conveyor Belt?

Earl Nightingale who was called the Dean of Personal Development, said you may never get anyone to admit it but for each of us we are the most important person alive.

And if you think about that it’s so true.

Of course there are others that we love that are very important to us, such as our children, our parents (especially as they get older) and our pets. But apart from those that we love we really are the most important person in the whole world.

Given this basic truth it would seem to make sense to develop the habit of treating others like the most important people on earth, no matter who they are.

Because as far as other people are concerned, they are.

It’s easy, I think, to treat people who are more powerful than you, or who you like, or are attracted to with deference. The challenge tends to occur when we are dealing with people we do not like, or who do not appear valuable to us in any way.

When we are dealing with people who, for want of a better word, are not valuable to us, that’s when we demonstrate our values and attitudes towards others.

As professionals working with clients who have experienced adverse childhood experiences, been discriminated against, or suffered trauma and abuse it is vital that we treat others as we in turn would like to be treated.

Government legislation and good practice demands that we dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s when working with clients and this is totally appropriate and crucial that we offer children and families, work of the highest standards.

However in order to do so it’s imperative that we learn to take care of ourselves properly. You cannot continually offer the best service to vulnerable clients when your own care needs remain consistently unmet.

The problem though is that when working in the caring profession you tend not to be valued in the way you ought and need to be. You cannot expect your agency or organisation to appropriately care for you because the reality is that the work is what they will prioritise.

So the reality is that you are constantly expending your time, energy, support and emotional resources and you need these to be repleted, before you exhaust them and become ‘burnt out.’

Often people in the caring profession become unwell (as well as burnt out) and when that happens...and it happens frequently, the organisation will express their regret that your health has deteriorated and then find someone else to take your place.

The conveyor belt of work never ceases, the cogs and individual units that compose the machinery of the conveyor belt can and will always be replaced; your health, wellbeing and life cannot.

It is essential to bear this in mind whilst you attempt to do high quality work that is often not valued and for which you may receive abuse.

Just to be clear, the work you do is important, you provide what many others who may criticise you cannot. But never confuse your self- worth with the way people in your profession feel treated.

It’s vital you know why you do the job you do and how long you plan to do it. Ultimately your health, life and wellbeing are far, far more important than being a cog in the relentless conveyor belt of care work.  But the responsibility concerning the fulfilment and happiness of your life rests only with you.