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Diane Spear

licensed clinical social worker. Union Square & Greenwich Village, NYC therapist. 212-353-0295

Are You Checking the Boxes

 

pencil-checking-boxes

Many people start treatment because they have a certain dissatisfaction in life.

They look good on paper, but their successes feel empty.

They’re checking the boxes in life:

Ivy League degree(s)? Check!

Fast-track career? Check!

Attractive spouse? Check!

1500+SF apartment in a great neighborhood? Check!

Children?  Check!

But there’s no real satisfaction, because they’re focused on looking good on the outside, perhaps checking the boxes in record time, or adding extra boxes. Their motivation is about impressing, winning that competition called life.

They’ve never learned to feel good on the inside.

What’s your motivation?

Ambition is a wonderful attribute. But what’s important is a person’s motivation.

Is the motivation behind your ambition to best your dad in his own field?

Is it to prove that you’re more accomplished than your siblings?

Good luck, if that’s what drives you, because when you achieve your goal, it will feel empty and you’ll have to find yet another way to prove yourself.

If your motivation is to do good work in your profession and continue to grow in your knowledge, you can feel satisfaction, whether your latest project is applauded or denigrated.

Treatment helps you live a more satisfying life!

Treatment with a good therapist can help uncover your unconscious motivations and see if they are reasonable for you. Read here about the ways in which therapy can help you. In living a more conscious life, you’re living a more autonomous life—no longer a slave to someone else’s idea of a good life.

Treatment allows you to more fully enjoy your life, rather than checking boxes to impress someone else! If you’d like to learn more, reach out to me here. I look forward to speaking with you.

 

 

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