July 28, 2026
Running The Race
Doing Our Very Best
We all are running the race set before us. We all want to live our fullest lives and do our very best.
The image highlighted today is of one of my daughter’s first races with her dad in 2007 when she was 10 years old. The look on her face says it all! For anyone who has done a race of any distance, it can be fraught with challenge and victory. Doing the hard thing, putting one foot in front of the other, brings us one step closer to accomplishing the goals we set for ourselves.
Speech therapy is like that. It is a race full of challenges, frustrations and wanting to give up sometimes.
As a therapist, I have the choice of being the coach on the sidelines, or run alongside one of my little friends to give encouragement. It is knowing when to “create and relieve tension as people progress in their journeys toward their goals” (Godin, p. 41).
It is knowing when to move from one speech sound to the next to avoid burnout.
It is knowing when to focus on what progress, no matter how small, is being made.
It is showing up with humility and understanding.
It is knowing when to cheer, when to provide the maximum support, and being there along the journey with the promise of a celebration at the finish line.