What Are Your Qualifications?

With so much importance placed on this, & so many live their life by this, people usually miss the point of what I believe are the most important lessons in life.

So many people spend huge amounts of time studying all different degrees to get themselves more educated and of course a few more pieces of paper on the wall - I ask myself, are these things really necessary??

Of course they are necessary to a certain point, studying and knowing the certain issue is necessary to understand - but I feel many of the people I have worked with, including psychologists, counsellors, wellbeing practitioners & even many tradies,  lack in the core values I deem most if not more important; Love, Respect, Empathy, Gratefulness, Humility & Care.

I believe you if you have these core values as an individual you go a long way in being a well credentialed person.

I spoke with a friend recently, who after years of studying in the field of youth, criminal justice - gained a job as a case worker with Family And Community Service (FACS).

Now after years of study, in a field that this person had great interests in, found themselves in a well paid job, working in the field they studied for some 5 years prior.

I found myself talking to this friend for some weeks almost after every night they finished work - due to the fact that they were struggling mentally & emotionally from the nature of the job, which was impacting on them personally. This friend had fell into the grips of depression after a number of months turning up to work, her dream job where they had so long studied to be a qualified youth worker, only to realise, they were nowhere near equipped with the tools mentally and emotionally to deal with the 'common, everyday issues' youth were faced with in their community.

My friend was upset that the fact her beautiful graduation ceremony, hours on hours of study, a degree, to learn how to be an expert or person of experience in this field - meant little, & had minimal if any impact on the ground in the qualified role.

When I began to work with this friend, in helping with wellness and mental health resilience - I began to realise, although a nice, loving & a caring person - my friend lacked in abundance the core values mentioned above.

Immediately, I knew my role wasn't solely to help my friend out've depression, but by pointing out these lack of values in their life, they would indeed be able to coach themselves out of the lows if this depressive state.

Remember - the key values I talk of;  Love, Respect, Empathy, Gratefulness, Humility & Care.

A lot of the youth my friend was working with, had a troubled & at times a traumatic upbringing - so the 1st approach must be one with empathy. A very simple quote, and word of advice I live with, in every single person I interact with everyday is - 'Treat everybody that you meet with a touch of empathy, because everyone we meet, is currently fighting a battle we know nothing about'

In case work with troubled youth, often everyday & life itself can prove a battle of a jungle - so youth especially Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander youth, a defence mechanism is put in place to not let anyone degrade, chastise or even get emotionally attached to them - knowing their journey is the way to approach this.

Love - is just a word for many people in this world, as many have never experienced love or for man youth - never been shown love - this works this same with care. Show that you care for someone, they may never have had care in their life - both giving and receiving.

Respect; everyone you talk to and care for - you cannot control if love is reciprocal however you can control the love and care you give or show  another.

By having humility, not putting yourself above anyone else - every; reciprocates gratefulness to yourself. When caring for such people who have a background or history of strife and it trouble, it is important to appreciate the little moments in time & experiences you have collected along the way in order to contribute another persons life positive. This appreciation, gives you a sense of gratefulness.

In practicing these everyday measures and key behaviours, my friend empowered themselves back to positive living and is confidently back in their job but now sees this role as a chance to have significant positive impact on another's life - my friend had to go through these downs to identify the key values of interacting with others in everyday life - their job is challenging but empowering & they have now replaced the framed university degree with a framed picture of the word gratitude!

In closing, personally I have started 2 university degrees, dropped one, still going with another - but have long been studying the degree of life, majoring in...Love, Respect, Empathy, Gratefulness, Humility & Care

JW