For a talk I'm giving, I've broken our career into rough phases that
resemble the advance and retreat of a wave on a beach:
In the beginning: We're all enthusiam, virtually no knowledge
The rising wave: We begin to know more, including the fact that there's
still more to know
The peak: We begin to think we know most of what matters, and generally
feel pretty comfortable with our skills
Sliding back: the beginnings of burnout, a growing interest in the Bigger
Picture, conferences are no longer like exciting candy shops
Boosting the next wave: We speak, or write, or encourage, perhaps instead of
working directly w/ mothers
Retiring: We go to work thinking about the Caribbean, or maybe about
Antarctica where there are no nursing mothers
Death: the legacy we leave
I'm wondering if any of these phases resonate with any of you, to the point
where you have thoughts to share. For instance, in the beginning when I was
first asked to consider LLL Leadership, I replied that we were moving, but
that I'd consider it if the area to which we were moving wasn't already
well-covered... as if any area ever has enough breastfeeding help. Or as a
"rising wave," I bought books because I was convinced every question I was
asked had an answer somewhere, if I just knew where to look. Or in the
"sliding back" phase, I bought a Liberty Bell pencil sharpener at a
conference, to remind me to free up my personal life more than I'd been
doing. (It still sits on my desk, though to some extent it just serves as
one more finger shaking at me.)
I know these phases overlap, and maybe you feel I have them wrong. I'm
happy to hear anything anyone has to share.
Should your thoughts be posted to lactnet, or e-mailed to me privately? I
think they'd be fun for all of us to hear. Use your judgment...
Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC Ithaca, NY
www.wiessinger.baka.com
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