Never Perfect...

by Daniel Jacob, MSW: Founder of Can You Hear Me?

  

Transformation is never perfect...  I heard this exact message the other day from a source of inspiration that I have learned from on many occasions.  It resonated with me and thus I felt the need to process further, while extending another opening to all of those than can hear me.  When one commits to the process of change, there definitely needs to be a level of determination and belief that can motivate and inspire our actions.  There also needs to be a tremendous amount of trust, of the process that is.  You see, it will not unfold as you may expect or imagine and so often we are vulnerable to the effects of what we don't see versus what is happening.  Transformation is never perfect...

If it were there would be so much that we would never receive.  The lessons learned through challenge and obstacles would not present themselves, and the growth and resilience that we gain as a result do not exist.  When you are in the midst of transformation it takes a level of effort that requires one to commit to every day for the rest of your days.  As I open the door, one that has opportunity waiting inside, my hope is that you understand that it begins when you start.  Don't spend too much time trying to figure out what you just cannot control, instead, may you see what you can.  When you are able to separate the two, you are one step closer to being self-determined to change.  Transformation is never perfect...
  
It occurs when you are available to embrace the imperfect as lessons to be learned from.  As I leave you this week, it wasn't about the quantity of words, but the impact of the message.  If I am able to help just one of you off the ground, then I have succeeded.  If I am able to help you slow down long enough to see a way towards a better day, then I have succeeded.  If I am afforded the ability to continue to reach, teach, support and guide, then I am exactly where I need to be.  An opportunity that I would have never received if I didn't buy into the idea that Transformation is never perfect...   

Until our paths cross again may this find you breathing well out there!



About Author

 
Daniel Jacob, MSW Email
Founder of Can You Hear Me? External Field Instructor at University of Southern California School of Social Work MSW@USC. Daniel has a Masters in Social Work (Families and Children Practice/School Social Work). He is currently nearing the completion of the LCSW testing process. More about the man behind the mission ⇢  

Overcome...

by Daniel Jacob, MSW: Founder of Can You Hear Me?

It's not what you've accomplished that you remember, it's what you overcome.  It's been a little over four years to this day that I walked away with my head up, set to embark into the unknown and uncertain; At the Crossroads.  The journey actually began to unfold several months prior and the challenges that I was exposed to and have learned from once again reinforce my ability to overcome.  It is fair to say that everything can happen due to reason, usually on its own schedule and when we are not ready or expecting. This is exactly what I was about to learn...
 
When the idea (and inspiration) for this week's post came to me I was immersed into one of my usual self-care practices, reading and writing in my process journal.  As it happens I had a moment where I was able to pause and reflect on all that has transpired in a rather short period of time.  I thought back to February 2009 when I had to be hospitalized because I was unable to take care of my self.  My thought process took me thorough the challenging moments leading to, the experiences during, and the work and commitment that have transpired ever since. What happened to me was going to happen at some point in time. Did I see it coming?  NO!  Should I have recognized what was impacting my mental and physical well-being?  YES!  You see, the man behind the passion and influence of this platform was in a place and space that could not see the eventual outcome that was surely waiting...
 
It turns out that I was living in the moment of survival and that functional behavior that one leads when they just cannot see an opportunity out.  I was suppressing and repressing while being immersed into the powerful affects and effects of burnout.  Turns out that burnout wasn't my only companion at the time as there were continual triggers from my past that were telling me something, I just wasn't ready or available to listen.  When the break happened I was thrust into the most intense ride of emotion that I had ever experienced.  It was so driven that for six days it kept me running away from sleep and well-being. It was a roller coaster of the life that I had lived and all that had impacted my history.  I was releasing what I had kept stored away, internalized in a manner that all I can say, it was like a boiling teapot ready to burst.  I was being given an experiential lesson that had two outcomes waiting; resist and you will suffer for quite some time, or accept, work and commit and you will change for the better in ways that you never imagined.
 
I chose the second option and the journey has been amazingly powerful.  The work that I was self-determined to embrace has opened a door that has truly impacted my personal self and professional practice in such a positive manner.  What I have been able to overcome has showed me the way towards opportunity that I wasn't available to see in the past.  What I have been given is a level of change that has allowed my process (from childhood to adolescence, young adulthood to the present) to breathe and release itself in order for me to live life the only way it should be.  You see, prior to this intense experience I wasn't living.  I was going through the motions of keeping it all together, not allowing myself to embrace my own vulnerability in a manner that would accept my authentic self.  I was able to overcome with much effort, and for this I am well, I am strong, I am empowered. There is much more to the journey, and though I consider myself to be an open book, I leave out facts and particulars not due to discomfort, but because I choose to promote awareness, reflection and the process that leads one to help themselves!
 
May this weeks sharing allow yourself to be available to all that is possible.  It is not a matter of if but when, Can You Hear Me?


About Author

 
Daniel Jacob, MSW Email
Founder of Can You Hear Me? External Field Instructor at University of Southern California School of Social Work MSW@USC. Daniel has a Masters in Social Work (Families and Children Practice/School Social Work). He is currently nearing the completion of the LCSW testing process.  More about the man behind the mission ⇢ 

Passion: Where You At?

by Daniel Jacob, MSW: Founder of Can You Hear Me?

Been a few since my fingers hit the keys, opening my process to all of those that can hear me! I hope the recent holiday and time away found you with an opportunity to breathe well out there. As many times as you may hear the words "self-care" I hope you are able to embrace your time away as another opportunity to help you help yourself.  It can either be a choice or chore, but when you trust the process as one of support, it will find you empowered and motivated to act upon with the ability to see value and purpose.  Can You Hear Me? 

This week's writing is somewhat of a follow up to a post I recently put out there: Is It A Calling?  In response to this post I was pleased to receive some insightful feedback and comments from several helping professionals. The sharing that was given demonstrated the strong feelings and motivating factors that have influenced their plight into the field.  A common theme was "passion" and how this product of emotion impacts and motivates their practice and desire to help those in need.  So, I pondered this emotion we know as passion and the impact it has on some, and how others may just have lost it somewhere along the way.  Passion: Where You At?

I'm fortunate to be in a position to support MSW students as a Field Instructor, and within this role I am afforded the opportunity to hear from my students the said influences of what brought them into this career... The stories are similar and different alike, but often I am told again and again how passionate they are to serve. I am also fortunate in my Can You Hear Me? endeavors to cross paths with many helping professionals, and like the MSW students I am also given insight into this emotion and what motivates one to do the work they do.  Of course the lens is different between the new to the seasoned, and as it does go the passion that once lead (those who have served) to this career can be impacted.  Passion: Where You At? 

Whether the career to you is a calling or not, it would be fair to say that as a helping professional one would need a certain emotional drive and level of attunement to provide such service that can transform and change.  As my time and work (supporting helping professionals in need) takes its course I have been afforded a true understanding of the cause and effect of their struggles.  The common factors are there: negative working environment, apathy, lack of support, unrealistic work load, compassion fatigue, psychosocial stressors, historical risk factors, burnout and many other intangibles that can impact one's personal self and professional practice.  As you would imagine this impact can affect and effect their passion, that strong emotional influence that once lead them to this career has been jeopardized. 

So, I ask the question: Why did you choose a career in this field?  The shared response usually includes the desire to help a population in need, but the one factor that always presents itself was their passion to...  Hear me if you can, we may not always be able to control the challenges that present themselves.  However, we can control how we choose to cope with these challenges.  No matter what you face or struggle with, may you always hold on to that passion that empowers and inspires you.  When you find yourself in need, may you enact the same emotional drive to work towards bettering yourself, because when you do, you won't have to ever lose sight of the passion that brought you to this career, and you may never have to ask yourself, Passion: Where You At?

As I leave you with some thought and process of your own I want to extend the ongoing offer to share your story and the passion that resides within.  The Learning Through Your Eyes Series is just that, another opportunity that is not going anywhere and will always be available when you are.  Until we meet again may this find you with your head up and heart open, be well out there!



About Author

 
Daniel Jacob, MSW Email
Founder of Can You Hear Me? External Field Instructor at University of Southern California School of Social Work MSW@USC. Daniel has a Masters in Social Work (Families and Children Practice/School Social Work). He is currently nearing the completion of the LCSW testing process.
More about the man behind the mission ⇢

Opportunity: Where is Yours?

by Daniel Jacob, MSW: Founder of Can You Hear Me?

*As this was a short week I have decided to bring back a post that I originally shared earlier in the year.  The message (and meaning within my words) is relevant as the holiday brings us our own opportunity to...  Happy 4th of July to all those that Can Hear Me!

If you have been following my community of support you will have noticed that opportunity is something that I often speak to.  There are various definitions of this term, translated through language, culture and experience.  The interpretation is represented by words such as: chance, circumstance, outcome, commitment and even risk.  Opportunity is thus a viable asset in a world that presents it on an often basis...  

As with everything that I share, there is thought and meaning within its context, and as long as you are available to see it, my hope is that you will receive your own opportunity.  So think of my words as a way to slow you down, having you focus on the opposite of what you may be spending too much time (and energy) avoiding and resisting.  It is in this space that the greatest of opportunity resides, Can You Hear Me?

My writing usually begins as I reflect on the week that has transpired.  As I process what I have been witness to and the learning that it has produced, my ideas start to appear and the sharing is put into motion.  What I avoid if possible are just a bunch of facts that fill space, or the kind of content that leaves the reader with no clear understanding as it relates to their own path.  My writing strives to have you in thought, giving pause to digest, reflect and embrace.  You see, in the reality of the world we live in there is just too much to possibly digest, and thus we become selective as to what we choose to hear.  Furthermore, if you are unavailable because you just can not take any more information in, you won't and I'm not trying to put anything out that does not reach you.  So, as my fingers hit the keys I find myself tapping into where my fellow helping professionals in need may be...  The one's who spend the majority of their time giving opportunity to those in need that they often have very little left to give to their own...

This past week was a very productive one for Can You Hear Me? as I was able to collaborate, connect and support in a positive manner.  By doing such, my circumstances found me engaged, inspired and motivated.  My mission was intact while reinforcing that my Tao is exactly where it should be.  The lesson here is that I am no where to be found if I am unable to do the work (not the 9 to 5 kind!), trust the process and be patient with it all.  Therefore, the opportunity only becomes a tangible outcome when you are in that place and space that has you well and available to hear...

As you move forward and toward in this week ahead, striving to reach and teach please be mindful of your own needs, while paying close attention to what matters most.  When your focus is here the opportunity for you to have more will increase, and you won't have to expend too much extra effort asking yourself, "opportunity, where is mine?"  There is learning in all we do and the door will most likely remain open if you are available to see it, what you choose to do from here will be up to...  Until we meet again may this find you well with your head up and heart open!



About Author


Daniel Jacob, MSW Email 
Founder of Can You Hear Me? External Field Instructor at University of Southern California School of Social Work MSW@USC. Daniel has a Masters in Social Work (Families and Children Practice/School Social Work). He is currently nearing the completion of the LCSW testing process. 
More about the man behind the mission ⇢