Just do, be, belong and become!...it's as easy as that!

 

Is it all that easy I ask myself?! We are currently "on holiday" for a couple of days and so we went to Thangami natural Spas close to Vryheid. It was incredibly scenic and away from any sort of metropolitan state which I loved! I must admit that I am not the biggest city slicker. We had some time to challenge our thoughts and it was there, in the middle of the dense African bush, that I was reminded of Ann Wilcocks understanding of health and well being which put my avoidant streak to the test.

Doing 

Doing, as Wilcock portrays it is, "acting on the environment and interacting with other beings".(Stoffel & Brown, pg. 639) I strongly believe that this is what us OT students are constantly doing. Maybe we are even exceeding the 'normal' requirements of the statement because there are times when our class is tired of constantly doing. What we need to remember though is that doing also "affirms competence and self worth" (Hammell, 2004) This refers to intrinsic motivation. This to me does not mean that whatever you do has to be done on a large scale for everyone to see. All of us want to be important and leave behind a legacy but we are not all going to. We need to ask ourselves what our motives for what we are doing are. If we don't try we will never know and there are ALWAYS going to be people out there that are going to be better at something than you are but maybe you will invent a new approach, who knows.... 

 

Being

To me, this is the hardest of the four. I am quite for the whole "Be yourself" thing but do I really apply it at the end of the day? Wilcock stated that, "being allows for reflection, contemplation and discovery" (Stoffel & Brown, pg. 639) which has been beautifully said. What is a little concerning about human nature is that there are many things that define who we are. Pressure wells up from all sides and in the end we drown in what society wants us to be and 'being you' becomes damn difficult. Put on those 'arm floaties' and off you go!        

 

Belonging

Belonging must be the most satisfying feeling ever! Often it is up to the individual of how much they want to belong. It gives me a great sense of pleasure to sense when someone feels welcomed or when a feeling of belonging develops when they are around me or in my home! It is defined as, "the idea of reciprocity, unconditional acceptance and being valued beyond the intrinsic value of self". (Rebeiro, Day, Semeniuk, O'Brien and Wilson, 2001) Everyone encounters the craving to belong even the most cold hearted out there.

 

Becoming

"...through creating, exploring and reflecting on the experiences of life, a person becomes or is transformed." (Stoffel & Brown, pg. 639) We can clearly pick up the importance of making time to reflect, discover and learn from our past and present experiences. this will assist with our personal growth. It is always important to me that individuals "become who they are" and then accepting themselves the way they are because in the end we do not get to choose our genetic makeup but it's what we make of it that counts and makes us who we are meant to be.  

 

So for all of the avoidant types out there....just DO, BE, BELONG and BECOME who you are meant to be!...just do it!

 

 

 

Reference



Brown C and Stoffel V, 2011, Occupational therapy in mental health: A vision for participation, United States of America, Davis company.