Dear Patient,
Many years ago I worked as a tutor at an after-school program for kids with reading difficulties. I was coaching a boy through a passage from Mark Twain when we encountered this sentence, “Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village, Huckleberry Finn, son of the town drunkard.”
The boy asked me what “pariah” meant. I didn’t know myself, but embarrassed about my own ignorance, I did the opposite of what a good tutor should do: right there on the spot, I made up a definition. And a very inaccurate one at that. I didn’t suggest we look it up in the dictionary; I didn’t encourage him to infer meaning based on context. I made something up and passed it off as truth.
Years later, in acupuncture school, I often heard the phrase “fake it til you make it” in practice management class. This idea was touted as the best way to build a successful career. But I remembered that boy, and how he was probably out there somewhere still thinking that Huckleberry Finn was a well-respected member of society—thanks to my faking it. I didn’t want to make that mistake again, and I vowed not to fake it as an acupuncturist.
Someone might tell you to fake it til you make it as a way to shore up your confidence, especially when you’re starting something new. But you can choose another way. You can be honest about who and where you are. Building trust is another path towards “making it.”
Love and gratitude,
Your Acupuncturist
I love reading these notes each morning. I find them to be peaceful and thoughtful. I hope you save them up and make a book someday. It would be a beautiful gift to give others.