Good Vibes Only?
Bringing positivity (not the toxic kind) to the everyday work of being an AT.
As an AT, I know that it’s hard to bring good vibes only.
There are the long days and the low pay, the friends and family who don’t understand, the frustrated coaches and parents, the countless job applications that don’t even get the courtesy of a response. To pretend anything else would be a lie, toxic positivity that doesn’t allow for change because it doesn’t admit that anything is wrong.
But I challenge myself to bring good vibes here, in my work and in my writing, and also to -
* lead with humor and humility, even if it’s just making silly reels on Instagram to acknowledge the hardest parts of our work - because some days, if we don’t laugh, we’ll cry.
* bring truths to the table, stats and facts, tools and tactics, that keep the focus on us without allowing in bitterness or envy for our counterparts with different credentials.
* advocATe and elevATe, where and when I can.
* never stop learning or teaching, and to never stop seeking the inspiration and motivation to keep going.
Am I always successful? Not by a long shot. I’m still a work in progress.
But on the days where finding those good vibes feels almost impossible, I remind myself that the reason I feel frustrated and disappointed is because I still have HOPE.
Hope that we are moving our profession in the right direction, even if that movement is inch by painstaking inch down the field. 📈 Hope that an event I host introduces one AT who is struggling to someone that inspires them. 🤝 Hope that at a conference of hundreds, I can help one AT protect a flame that was almost out. 🔥
And knowing that many of you are doing the same, each in their own way, bringing your positivity and your professionalism to your athletes and patients, colleagues and clients, students and mentors, gives me the most hope of all. ✨
Here’s to bringing all the good vibes this NATM 🥂
