The PT internet has somehow made us forget that...

I dunno about you, but just about any given day of the week, I can pick up my phone and within 2.3 seconds be flooded with feelings that I am simply not good enough as a PT, or someone trying to grow a business on the internet, or a human trying to keep herself (and everyone else around her) alive.

And that very first part - feeling like I'm not good enough as a PT - is saying something since I haven't even touched a living + breathing patient, written a SOAP note, or analyzed someone's gait mechanics in 8 years.

Ok that last part is a lie. I can't not analyze someone's gait mechanics. Especially in the airport.

But it is no secret that the internet is hellbent on convincing you at any given moment that you should be doing more, taking care of yourself better, making more money, posting more times per week, taking more courses...

Add to the mix the existential anxiety that comes from being someone raised and told "You can have it all! The career! The family! The work-life balance!" only to realize when you mix in a proclivity for perfectionism, overachieving, and FOMO - that all of this falls on YOUR shoulders (especially if you are a woman).

But what you see on the internet is not always true, it's usually not nuanced at all, and it almost never takes into account the complexity and uniqueness that applies to your life.

Social media algorithms and the industries they feed are designed to trigger your WORST fears, manufacture scarcity and shame and anxiety, and then blame YOU for feeling those things - all while serving you the $99 quick fix or $395 CEU course or $7999 coaching program you need to buy to fix it.

So just in case you picked up your phone today and some part of you felt like you just weren't enough - here are 10 things the PT internet has somehow made us all forget.

These probably apply to you even if you aren't a physical therapist.

Teacher? Swap out "patient" for "Student who passes a standardized test."

Attorney? Swap out "patient" for "Billable hours" or "client referral."

You get the idea.

Number 8 is the one that took me the longest to learn.

You'll have to let me know which ones land hardest for you👇

1 Seeing more patients than your PT colleagues does not make you a better provider.

2 It’s ok to let life — and all the things that have nothing to do with being a clinician — be your teacher. Your patients don’t care if you spend every other weekend in a CEU course.

3 You can care about the whole patient without being their PT, trauma therapist, sex counselor, strength & conditioning coach, nutritionist, life coach, AND functional medicine provider. Whole-person care includes you, too.

4 Your patient does not want to drink from the firehose. Just because you can see every layer of nuance doesn’t mean you need to address them all.

5 Having a patient referred specifically to you does not mean they’ll fall apart if they don’t see you. Referring them out when your schedule is already booked isn’t failing them. It’s choosing to take care of you.

6 Having a 3 month wait list does not mean you’re an incredible PT or that it’s a smart business strategy. Making patients who need good care wait isn’t putting money in your bank account. It’s hoarding.

7 It isn’t aspirational to “lead by example” by seeing patients all day, having a perfect morning routine, going viral on Instagram, and never losing your shit with your kids. You’re allowed to drop balls, fuck up as a mom, and not appear invincible. We know you’re not.

8 “Being a team player who goes above and beyond” is just free labor. Say no to the committee, speaking event, advocacy group, or mentoring opportunity. Or ask to be paid. Pick your poison.

9 You do not need to pour into someone else before you’ve had your coffee. A long slow morning before “peopling” might feel lazy to new graduate you, but now that you’re 40, it is essential.

10 Just because there are endless ways to help patients, the answer isn’t always MORE of you.

Ok which ones hit hardest for you? Also what did I miss!!?!? 

PS Hi, I’m Julie. I'm a PT turned coach helping women clinicians (especially PTs) push back when the internet tells you being a good clinician means letting your career swallow the rest of you whole

Stick around if you’re ready to bust out of the clinical box whose rules silence your spicy and freer parts — I’d love to meet them 😈💃🏼