Competition (with self)
“Competition is always a good thing. It forces us to do our best. A monopoly renders people complacent and satisfied with mediocrity.” Nancy Pearcy
I am not the sporty type anymore; however, I do need people around me to encourage me to keep going with whatever endeavour I am attempting. Whether that is other people doing the same course, or a group environment, such as the mosaic class I go to weekly. The friendly banter and being able to discuss projects with likeminded people.
The competition may not necessarily be with the others but knowing that they are there and going through the same mental barriers, can assist me to keep going. This was so true for me last year when I was studying the Graduate Certificate in Sand Tray. Online learning is not always the best environment for me to learn, especially when it is self-paced learning. I need to purchase a crown as I am the QUEEN of procrastination AND I can find many things to do, to use the time I have allocated to study. Yes, I get very busy when it comes to using that time productively!
I started well, got the required online learning completed prior to the five-day intensive. Met the instructor and the other learners. Completed the compulsory post workshop components in the required timeframe and THEN the procrastination began! Yes, I started on the required 40-hour logbook with clients, and this took some time up, October 2023 through to April 2024 as I also needed to work with my clients in private practice. It was the added documents and study that also took time to contemplate and complete. The supervisory agreement, reflective journal, literature reviews, the planning of supervision and display of the work with the clients. The most difficult of all, was the proof and documentation of the work with the clients. The backend stuff that takes time and energy to record and upload as evidence.
In the end, I had to force myself to make time and put an end date on the study to ensure that I did complete it. It definitely took me a lot longer to complete than I anticipated and whilst I understand that this all needs to be completed and verified by the educator – the amount of work that was done for this Graduate Certificate astounds me. I don’t believe that I could have completed it any less time, only used the time available more wisely.