What Will It Take (To Get What You Need?)
Photo Credit: Evgeni Tcherkasski
Recently I encountered a health challenge in the form of fatigue. I was having a hard time figuring out what might be causing it. Over the months, I explored multiple avenues for clarity and relief.
I hired a nutritionist and we experimented with my diet which offered some useful information, but didn’t quite resolve the issue. A general practitioner recommended a sleep study that needed to be approved by insurance. A couple specialists offered insights from the perspective of their area of learning, which added slivers of information but didn’t add up to the whole story.
A trend that I noticed along the way was that the experts were unwilling to venture too far beyond the scope of their fields and were unable to get to the bottom of what was happening. The general practitioner was reluctant to provide lab tests the nutritionist had recommended and the specialists refused to venture outside their spheres of expertise to problem-solve holistically. Still not feeling well, I concluded I would need to find a health expert who was able to see the big picture, and willing to acknowledge that the human body is a complex system of parts that function interdependently.
Soliciting recommendation from friends, I learned of four naturopaths, reached out to three, played phone tag with the assistant at one office and had a complimentary 15-minute call with one out-of-network doctor who listened, asked on-point questions and shared her process for treating patients. 10 days later she spent 2.5 hours interviewing me on my whole health history after reviewing test results I had shared with her and then prescribed a supplement regimen to support my healing. Even as my journey continues, I’m grateful to have partnered with someone who’s willing to think outside the box.
What challenge are you facing where you’re not quite getting the information, support or solutions you need? What will it take to go beyond “the usual suspects” to persevere in creating sustainable resolution? Who will walk with you through the (possibly numerous) steps to reach a satisfying conclusion?
Along the way I have needed to show myself grace, being patient when things aren’t moving fast enough, pausing when I need to rest physically or emotionally, and finding ways to refresh myself on the path to uncovering what I need, even when it’s outside conventional paths of what our systems, organizations, society and culture have established as “the way things are done.”
In whatever uniquely obscure challenge is now standing in your way, may you have courage to persevere until you identify and secure the resources needed to get the job done. Here's to going beyond the tried-and-true-but-not-enough-in-this-case options and equipping yourself and your team to soar to new heights!