Getting dressed each morning is an adventure. It’s not because there’s nothing clean, but because of the daily potential that today might be the day that my pants will be too tight to wear.
I don’t really go on a diet until my pants are too tight. I convince myself that I am eating healthy foods in appropriate amounts in combination with rigorous exercise and that the sweets, etc. are small and don’t matter.
Small slips alone don’t matter until they add up. Until they become the habit that produces an observable outcome (that is tight pants!).
It’s easy to coast through life. We don’t notice the small slips. We settle for the status quo. Life is perfect the way it is.
Life without change is a living death sentence. There’s no growth, nothing new. We need new. We need to make changes to reach our potential.
Change always begins with some type of discomfort.
- boredom
- physical pain
- mental pain
- emotional pain
- loneliness
- financial concerns
- being overwhelmed
- humiliation
- embarrassment
- fatigue
- abuse
- death
- divorce
Our first reaction is to fight the pain. We deny its existence. We blame it on someone else.We expect it to magically disappear, and we hope to be rescued.
Then it’s time to move, take charge of our discomfort, change our habits and grow.
Growth keeps us alive. It energizes us and makes life meaningful.
I don’t like it when my pants are too tight…. but I am grateful for the discomfort that initiates change!
ABOUT DR. BETH PLACHETKA
THERAPIST FOR ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTS
As a licensed clinical social worker, therapist, speaker, adjunct professor in the School of Social Work at Aurora University and president of Safe Harbor Counseling in Sugar Grove, Illinois, Beth Plachetka, EdD, LCSW, MSW, MAEL brings 40 years of experience helping individuals, families and groups address and resolve psychological, social and interpersonal issues.
Dr. Beth’s expertise in assessing and strengthening relationships is applied in private practice counseling, school social work, teaching, and speaking engagements. As a therapist, Dr. Beth works closely with her clients to help them evaluate their progress and re-chart their course, so they can learn strategies, build confidence and identify support systems to gain the strength and confidence required for lasting change. Contact Dr. Beth for counseling.
SPEAKER FOR ORGANIZATIONS
For organizations to succeed and thrive, strong workplace relationships must be respectful, collaborative and in line with the mission and goals. If professional relationships are poor, it leaves a negative impact on the organization and customers suffer.
Beth’s knowledge of the importance of relationships at work is supported by her dissertation that focuses on adult bullying in the school setting and by earning her doctorate in curriculum and instruction. Her deep practical knowledge to identify and realign workplace relationships in educational systems and faith institutions provides her with the expertise required to improve team productivity and professional relationships.
Presenting on a variety of topics related to bullying and mental health, Beth uses humor as well as effective and practical strategies to improve workplace culture, counteract the devastation of bullying and mitigate the symptoms that result from workplace bullying. Beth’s presentations reflect her years of experience as a teacher with clearly stated objectives, outcomes, activities and interactions that both inspire and educate. Contact Dr. Beth to speak at your next event.
With licenses and certificates in elementary education, school social work, clinical social work and educational leadership, her family fondly (at least she hopes it’s fondly) refers to her as “certifiable.”