What would your dream day job look like? Coffee shop delivery? Catered lunches? A speech room with windows that open? Coworkers that get you? An office of your own with a small caseload?

For me, it would be a job with my own office, friendly coworkers and a supportive boss. Of course, I wouldn't turn down a coffee delivery, too. :)

Day Job? Why not just a job? Or a burning passion?

A word on the term "day job." Like many of you reading this, I have hobbies, passions, friends and family, side gigs and an up-and-coming side hustle. My day job pays the bills. I don't expect it to meet my every need. I think it's an important classification at a time where people talk about being an SLP as being their calling and passion. I call that dangerous, and that kind of thinking gets us teetering on the edge of burnout and overwork. If our job is our reason for living, we'll find all sorts of excuses to spend more time at work and less time doing life, which is what really matters. Maybe we don't need a hard separation there. But, please. Don't think you were created and put on this earth to be a speech-language pathologist. The stakes are too high, and the mighty will fall with today's caseload sizes and work requirements. Being an SLP is something you do. Being an SLP is not your identity.

A few weeks ago, I realized that at the end of my work day, I was especially frazzled. My brain was buzzing with things to do, and I was more tired than usual. Instead of working more and feeling more effective, I realized I was working more hours, and feeling less effective.

In other words, it was time to put on the breaks.

The thing about the future is, people are always asking us about it. What are your plans? What will happen next?

From dinner chat, to party conversation, to discussions with family, those Future Questions come up, which can put a deep knot in the pit of your stomach.

On Confidence
Self esteem and confidence is overrated.
We live in a culture of confidence. We encourage everyone to feel confident.
For example, related to our careers:
You should feel confident!
You should know what you are doing!