Can an effective practitioner have personal health issues?
There is nothing like a filtered photo of a beautiful woman drinking green juice to make you insecure about your own health.
“If I am not the picture of health, who will take my advice seriously?”
“No one will trust me to solve their health issues if I still have my own.”
“My own health seems like an advertisement of my knowledge and abilities; what if it’s not perfect?”
“Who am I to give health advice when I can’t seem to help myself?”
If you have thoughts along these lines, you are probably a health practitioner (and a human).
Newsflash: you will never be perfect.
However, perfection is not a requirement for being an effective health coach.
In fact, here are 3 reasons why your own struggles are ESSENTIAL for true connection:
1. YOU CAN RELATE TO OTHERS
Your personal search for healing is likely what initially led you to the field of functional health. This gives you a powerful perspective into the experiences of your clients because you understand how they feel. Without this shared experience, you risk not being able to take their struggles seriously. You can relate to them.
2. OTHERS CAN RELATE TO YOU
People don’t always want answers, they want to be understood. This all goes back to being a good listener. However, you can foster another level of connection by sharing the realness of your own struggles and successes. Your story can be a powerful source of inspiration and trust. They can relate to you.
3. HEALING REQUIRES RELATIONSHIP
You cannot heal in isolation. It requires companionship and community, which is why health coaching is an effective solution in the first place. Also, you cannot heal yourself. The process of healing is beyond our human capacities. Yes, our bodies have a capacity to heal when properly supported, but we cannot consciously control the means of that healing.
You are only able to be an example to your clients when you are living these realities in your own healing journey. This shared experience of healing is perhaps the most powerful aspect of the client-practitioner relationship.
So can an effective practitioner still have personal health issues?
YES, absolutely. In many ways it is essential.
Authentic relatability is what distinguishes truly exceptional practitioners.
Your personal healing journey is not a failure, but your fuel.
And when it comes to the beautiful woman drinking green juice, let’s change the way the world depicts health. Health is not perfection, but fullness of life.