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My 'Why'


Last year I learned that some people have been categorised as ‘extraordinary altruists’ (Hammond, 2022), and instantly recognised myself as one of these people. The most common behaviour I shared with this group is having donated a kidney to a stranger, but I have also adopted older siblings and more recently hosted a family of Ukrainian refugees. Being kind is a norm for me. When I encounter a need and have the means to offer a solution, I will want to offer it. As a runner, if I found that someone needs company to run, I wanted to find a way to meet that need. Therefore working with clients in order to help is natural for me, but it helps me as well.


Krasnow (2020) argues that altruistic acts, while proximally kind are ultimately selfish when they are designed to achieve a greater good. This means that every kindness is actually self-serving, because it fixes a tiny aspect of society that the person belongs to. If I want to live in a world that is compassionate, responsive and fair, then altruistic behaviour contributes to this. This explains having a client-led style in my practice also. A client-centred practice style means I can support clients to become self-compassionate and to find their own solutions when responding to identified needs. The benefit of teaching someone to fish over giving them a fish is that the world becomes more self-sufficient and capable. Rather than ‘giving’ the client the solution, a client-led approach guides the client toward finding their own solution, making clients more independent and responsible. This satisfies my drive to want to fix the world. Athletes, coaches and teams become more skilled at solving problems themselves, individuals find their own way to increase their levels of activity, thus making our nation healthier and our NHS more efficient.


This is my ‘why’ - what is yours?



References


Hammond, C. (2022) All in the Mind: The Anatomy of Kindness,

Krasnov, M. (2020) Altruism is Selfish, and that’s ok. TedTalk



 
 
 

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