Life passes quickly. Days tend to blur into one another as we establish habits and follow routines, not realizing how much of our life has kicked into autopilot mode. This is perfectly natural and, I would argue, somewhat necessary in order for us to operate under a structure in which we can thrive. It can become problematic, however, when we become slaves to our routines and lose sight of our purpose. “Getting through the work day” means something entirely different when you’re a social worker because your day revolves around being present and mindful with your clients/patients. I have a simple maxim to help me know when I’ve reached this point:
“If it’s not interesting, it’s because you’re not taking an interest.”
What does this mean? Simply that I believe all people are dynamic and interesting if we approach them in the right spirit and with the right attitude. If I am more focused on my 5:00pm workout, what I’m going to do for dinner, or how I’m going to get all of my paperwork done, I have ceased to be of maximum service to my patients. I have yet to meet someone without an interesting story, whether it consists primarily of external or internal factors. It just takes a little patience, rapport-building, and tactful digging in order to get there in some cases. I would say that, 99 of 100 times, if I’m not getting there it’s because I’m not allowing myself to be fully present enough to take an interest in a particular person, and that almost always comes back to whatever background noise I have going on in my own life.
There is another factor at play that can keep us from fully engaging with our clients, and that is that most people do not believe that they are interesting. I have met many World War II veterans that traveled all over the world and had insane adventures before they were even out of their teens, yet they will stare you straight in the face and insist that their lives have been relatively boring. Mind you, these same people nearly always (and after we have gotten to know one another) end up sharing colorful, heartfelt anecdotes and delicious tidbits of wisdom with me that were buried somewhere in their subconscious. The point is that we have to be conscious that people can have a tendency to minimize their importance and, therefore, unknowingly aide you in missing out on what is actually the most important part of your day.
In short, be mindful that people are always interesting when you take an interest in them. In the long run this will make your job (and your life) much more of an adventure than coasting through to 5:00pm!
Peace,
Christopher