Will You Allow Other People's Limiting Beliefs to Limit Your Dreams & Goal to Become A CHT?
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[00:00:00] I Wanted to come on today and share with you some thoughts that I. because I've been talking about limiting beliefs for a hot minute in these last couple days.
I've been talking to people who want to join the exam prep program. I'm talking to current members in there talking to my own staff. I'm talking to business friends and there's a couple of things that I wanted to share because. Right now we're, right now I'm currently enrolling members.
I'm currently enrolling people, OTs, PTs, who have an interest in becoming certified hand therapists into the exam prep program. And one of the things that I get a lot is about whether you can or cannot do it. And there's a lot of limiting. , I find a lot of limiting beliefs and limiting language, and I wanted to bring it out and share it with you because I think that when we can [00:01:00] identify and recognize, so there's a certain awareness, we can have an awareness around what the limiting beliefs and the limiting languages are.
Then once you become aware of it, , you can actually take steps towards it, right? So once you see something, you can't unsee. , and that's essentially the same when we're talking about limiting beliefs and limiting languages. So I wanted to really talk around that today. Now everyone who's an ot, everyone who's a pt, not everyone wants.
To become a certified hand therapist. So this is really for you if you want to become a certified hand therapist. Is this for you If that is a personal goal of yours? If it's not a personal goal of yours, then I think it's still helpful. , I think it's so helpful because I'm literally using, the [00:02:00] same framework and structure.
When I speak to other business owners, I'm using the same structure and I'm using the same framework when I speak to my own team who are not therapists, right? Limiting beliefs. Is interwoven in a lot of areas of your lives, but very specifically, I'm gonna bring it very specific to the exam prep program.
And you can take what you need and you can leave what you don't need, right? When it comes to, when it comes to becoming a certified hand therapist, You have to have the years like period. You have to be an occupational therapist. You have to be a physical therapist if you're a coda, if you're a p e T assistant, if you're a personal trainer, a massage therapist.
I get questions like this. You cannot sit for the national board certification if you're an occupational therapist and you're a [00:03:00] physical therapist in another country outside of the United States and Canada. . You have to look at your, what your country allows you to do. There's I've had students in different countries that are able to sit and take the c h t the cHT exam, but you have to do the due diligence to check it out in your own country.
Now, the easiest thing to do is get the years, because getting the years is just passive. You have your license. You work for three years and boom, you hit one of the criteria, right? Just because one criteria was easy doesn't mean the other criteria are easy. Second criteria you have to have are the hours, and that takes effort because you want to take the effort to put yourself into environment, into work settings that give you the experience that you need to make studying easy.
Studying easier but also giving you that experience to know what to do when you get [00:04:00] cases that come to you. Certified hand therapists are known to taking surgical cases of the shoulders, surgical cases of the braco plexus, surgical cases of the elbow, the wrist, the hand. But may I explain to you that ch cheeses when.
Specialize in hand and upper extremity that you too have to know non-surgical cases, non-surgical conservative treatments. , right? So you wanna make sure that you're putting yourself into these work environments that give you the ability to gain your experience and your hours. Once you get that, then the third criteria is really about studying it away.
That helps you to pass the exam. The only thing limiting you from becoming a certified hand therapist, honestly, is being able to study. in a way that increases your chance of passing. Now, [00:05:00] we've all heard it before, if you are working towards your CHT, that it is hard. It is a 50 50 pass rate. But let me tell you that last night that I was talking to this woman, she was in her seventies and she's such a badass.
In her time when she was in her twenties, it was not. She not at all common for a woman to be in a position that she was in and dealing with the kind of money and the kind of loans that she needed to grow her career completely separate. Completely different than healthcare but to have the mindset of what it takes is common no matter what career you're.
and she was pretty much, she pretty much was like, listen, you have choices. You can either, it's a 50 50 shot, you can either do it or you don't. So what would you rather do not do anything or just do it? and take a gamble. [00:06:00] So it's the same thing. It's a 50 50 shot. Are you willing to do it because you can write your goals, you can.
You can dream all way. You can imagine what it's like, but it's not real until you write it down, until you take steps towards that goal and to become more specific. Cuz it's really not just about taking the exam, it's about studying in a way that helps you pass. To get a 75, you need a 75. To pass to become a certified hand therapist.
74 ain't gonna cut that shit for you. You can come bitch and complain. I was one point away. I get it. I understand it hurts, but you need a 75, right? And you have to study in a way. You have to study in a way that helps you to pick the best answers, right? Not just any answer. The best answer that.
Deem fit, and it all comes down to how you critically think through that particular problem. There are [00:07:00] clues in the questions, just like there are clues when patients come to you in the clinic, there are clues in terms of what happened to them before. What their current symptoms are now and what you plan to do to help solve their problem.
There are clues in the questions you have to pick the best answer. There are clues in what patients come to you with and you need to pick the best treatment for them, right? The biggest difference. is that those patients come to two, three times a week, and so you have multiple chances. Now, where you can make the change for you is to have, you have a choice, you have a chance every single time you study, right?
Every single time you study. So when it comes to studying, to do something that you have not yet done. Right now I'm talking about you have not yet done. You have not yet become a certified hand therapist. You have not yet done this quote unquote hard thing. You have not yet been, be, become the [00:08:00] person that, that knows what is going on critically thinking through the particular problem and making decisions.
You have not yet become this person. So in order to become this person that you want to be, you need to surround yourself with people who can help you do that. , right? So another way of saying it is who you surround yourself with can determine your success or lack thereof, right? You can spend time with people who complain and think that everything sucks, and then you'll be stuck sitting there and complaining.
I remember being in acute care and working with a great group of people that I thought were wonderful. They were fun to be with, but they were the most negative people. , right? Like majority of the time everything sucked. And there was, always remember this one person that I wasn't necessarily friends with, but I mean it, this person was just, every single time they were just so negative.
Everything that came out of their mouth was negative. And then the imagine if [00:09:00] you stay in that environment over time, you see what you hear, you see what's embedded in your brain, so you have to pick and choose. If you spend time with people who say they want to do something but don't do anything to achieve them, then you can fall to into the pattern of, I'll do it.
I was talking to someone very specific about this, and it's if you hang out with these people and every single time, but I'm gonna do it, but I'm gonna tell. But yeah. But then they never do anything. and you choosing to hang out with them, you end up doing the same thing. And this change for this person, because you know now she's in en engulfed in an environment where she's with people who say that they're gonna do something and then do it.
So now she is the person who's , am I gonna be the odd woman out saying I want this, [00:10:00] but not doing it. So when you surround yourself in an environment that, that the level of the people are asking you to level up, you too will level up. You too will be like, no, I don't wanna be la I don't wanna be that asshole who like said they want all this stuff but then doesn't.
right? So there's gonna be just so many people in your life and I think that you need to be become very aware of who those people are. And I'm not saying oh, you gotta cut them outta your life or anything like that, cuz it might be a parent, right? I'm not saying that you can't be friends with these people.
but I want you to pay attention to who they are so that you can work around these people. So there's three main people. There's three main like groups of people essentially, that are, might be in your life that may be having a lot of limiting beliefs of their own. And because they have limiting beliefs of their own, they will [00:11:00] project on you.
Number one, they're gonna be your coworkers, right? They're gonna be your coworkers. There can be people that are in your same field, and what are they saying to you? Pay attention. What are they saying to you? And then pay attention to how you're responding. Again, it's that rhetoric that we've been talking about.
Oh, it's too hard. It's 50 50. So are they saying in a way that's. , is it too hard for you? Is it too hard for you? And maybe you can't do it right? So pay attention to that. There's gonna be certain key things that they're saying. I remember very specifically that when I was like, oh, I, I want that job in outpatient because I'm gonna become a certified hand therapist.
And she was like, oh aren't you special? , you're gonna be a C H T, huh? You're gonna be one of those people that just they only wanna do this. The way she was saying it was very limiting, and this is supposed to be like a person of [00:12:00] leadership, right? This is supposed to be a person that is supposed to support you.
Supposedly, not everyone. What you want, and not everyone who says they support you actually are supporting you, right? Your friends and family are the second group of people. Now, how are they acting and what are they saying to you? , and this is the most sensitive part because you love these people. They're your friends.
You don't wanna cut these high with them. It could be your own mother. Do you really need this? Do you really need to become a certified hand therapist? Do you really wanna do this? So they question you from a I love you standpoint, they question you from. I wanna hang out with you all the time.
I want you to myself, and if you're studying, then you won't hang out with me. So when you are getting that question, do you really need, like the way they're asking you, and if it's making [00:13:00] you feel some kind of way you need to pay attention to those types of questions because. Answer determines your actions.
When I speak to OTs who want to come into the program, this was like probably a year ago and I've been refining my process. Just be perfectly honest cuz one of the questions I get a lot is like how what's your pass rate? Because people wanna know, if they come into a program like mine, cuz it's expensive, it's, it's a sacrifice of money and of time.
is it going to help them? And I totally get the idea behind asking the pass rate, right? But you know, if you are not committed to coming, I don't care what books you buy, I don't care what program you enroll in, you won't pass unless you, you come to the class, you open the book, you do the work.
Okay. Our greater program is if you aren't doing the work, you're not going to pass. But I remember, [00:14:00] what was I'm almost on this tangent, . But I remember talking to, talking to my own parents about, doing this. And there's a lot of questions around do you really need to do this?
And if your answer isn't a solid, It's a no. , and I was talking to this one therapist before and she was like I wanna do this and I wanna do that, but I'm not really sure and let me ask my husband to see if it's okay for me to join this program. I'm like, sweetheart, if you are not sure, what kind of a response are you going to tell your husband to get his support of you?
If you don't know yourself, you can go and tell your husband all you want, that you want to be in this program, but he's gonna go ask you, Hey babe, do you really need this? And if you don't have a solid yes. Yes, babe. I need this program. I want this program. This program is going to help me be successful.
It's going to give me a chance to be successful. [00:15:00] If you can't honestly say that to your spouse, they won't agree or support you. I know from experience, I went, when I first started my business and I went to my husband with a $15,000 program. Essentially, he was like, Do you really need to spend this kind of money?
And I thought about it and I was like, dude yes. I need to spend this kind of money because if I don't, this is the consequences, right? But if I do and I take the actions that I need, I will get a return on my investment tenfold. Tenfold. And you, when you learn something, you don't just learn it that one time, you take it with.
to the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. You don't just learn it that one time and be like, okay, I wanna take it out. It's not like our penguins here, jumping on and jumping off, but they cycle back, right? So if you are not sure about what you want, [00:16:00] you cannot convince your spouse, your parent, your friends, to support.
But be careful with how, you know what they're saying, how they're saying it, how they keep saying something. Your awareness is key because you are in charge of who you surround yourself with, right? And then the last and most important person who will limit you 100% every single day is yourself.
What are you saying to yourself? That will. Help you to be successful or keep you from achieving any goals that you have. What are you saying to yourself now during this time? Some of y'all people will be like, no, I don't wanna listen because, I don't wanna know what I'm saying, but you already know what you're saying, right?
Speaking to people, and if you're saying to yourself that I, you can, it's a spectrum. Not everything is. , black and white is a, everything is a bell curve. Everything [00:17:00] is on this bell curve, so it's a spectrum. So you got this one, you know this one group of people who are like I already have the job already.
Do I really even need it? If you have made any effort to become a certified hand therapist, it's because you want it. And just because at some point it became hard, you try to, backtrack doesn't make it any less important. You still wanted. if you on the opposite spectrum of I hate this job so much, I need to have my c h D so that I can get out of this job and get into another job.
What are you saying to yourself during those times? What are you saying to yourself? What are your expectations? One thing that I find is that, even though we quote unquote intellectually know, it's hard, we hope and pray that it's easy. And there's a saying. from John Rowan that says, don't wish for it to be easier.
Work yourself so that you are better. So what things are you saying to yourself that could be limiting you? Cuz you're with yourself 24 7. So [00:18:00] if you're scared, you're doubtful, you either stay in your head or you can seek outside guidance. So you know how you're choosing to manage to take.
These people's comments these ideas, these suggestions, these advices. I would just I'm not telling you. essentially what to do because at the end of the day, you need to make decisions around that, like what works for you and what doesn't work for you. But being aware is one thing, right?
And then if you're studying for the C H T exam, if you are currently studying for the C H T exam, you want to study in a way that increases your chance of passing. So here are the five. , here are the five steps that you can do today to manage who you surround yourself during this time of growth. , right?
Because you can by all the books and resources you want, you can join a program like the exam prep program. But if you're not managing your environment, I do, I can't do it [00:19:00] for you, right? If you're not managing your environment to help you become successful then no amount of books or programs can.
right? So once you're aware of who those people are, have in your brain who it is, if it's you have in your brain, you should might write it down, have in your brain what are the top two to three negative things that you keep telling yourself? Because it's gonna be really important in order to be able to manage that, right?
So here are the five steps that you can do today. So if someone starts talking really negatively about the test, just don't respond to that same negativity, right? Negative begets negative. So if they're negative and they want someone else to be negative with them, just don't let that person be. Because then you'll spend too much of time and energy talking shit about the exam and not actually doing the thing that you need to be doing, which is to study.
Right, which is to study. You cannot pass [00:20:00] a c h C exam without studying. So if you're sitting there bitching and moaning about crap, then that takes away brain energy that you could be putting towards studying. If someone keeps talking negatively about the task and complaining about everything, you might have to figure out how to walk away, like not make plans to hang out with.
And I know that during this time people are, as you're studying you're thinking like I want study buddies. I want someone to study with. And I think that you just have to manage who you're studying with, who you're deciding to spend time with. In my group, I encourage everyone to like, when everyone comes on the calls, you can find your study buddies, but you wanna.
Specific to what you want and what you need so that you can find the per perfect fit for you. Because during this time, you don't have time to waste. So this is not the time to be nice and be like, oh, I'll take just anybody who wants to sit and study with me. Cuz that person might be draining your energy.
They might be draining [00:21:00] your mental capacity. They might be not great study partners with you. And here you are trying to be nice and just oh. Study with them just to study with them. But that could be detrimental to you. So keep that in mind and you can, just so much of this requires you to be honest with yourself.
So then just manage your time with them, and it's, it's okay to say no, man. It's just okay to say no. If you cannot manage to say no, when you need to say no, it's no one's fault, but yours. So you're hanging out with your friends and they're just, negative and you decide to choose to study with them.
You decide to hang out with them, it's your fault. And then when you leave that hour, two hours, you've just wasted it, right? So just keep that in mind and then you're gonna have to make decisions around it. Nobody's gonna make you do anything . The third thing, the third step is, . Ask yourself again, honesty.
Is it me? Am I the negative one? Think ask [00:22:00] yourself, is it me? Is it you? Is it you? Are you the one? Are you the negative Nelly? Are you the negative Nelly? And , are you the one starting the conversation really negative so that you can get someone to support you so that you don't feel so alone? Because you only have so much time and energy and space in your brain, right?
So you can either spend it with positive or spend it with negative. It cannot that you have both. You can only hold one thing at a time in your brain in terms of that. So you can either choose to be negative or you can choose to be positive. So if it's you sweetheart, own up to it. Own up to, and be like, I think it's me.
What do I need to do? . All right. And that's that's number three. Number four is really know your study style. Really know your study style when it comes to studying with someone. Really know your study style. I had one member come into the program years ago and she had dyslexia, right? So reading wasn't, was not [00:23:00] going to cut it for a super bright, super smart woman, great therapist.
You're all great therapists as long as you keep working and trying, right? But she knew her study style, she knew her needs and she knew how to use the program to her best benefit. She knew. And when I told her the same strategy, I'm telling you, pick and find your study buddy. , where you get what you need and they get what they need.
So this group little group within the group formed and there was probably like four or five of 'em. So she got what she needed and you know what, she passed the first time. But the person who doesn't study in that way didn't benefit from that group. But didn't wanna say no. , where are you lying to yourself about your study style?
You're going to waste your time, and when you start to waste your time, you're not seeing progress. You're going to want to stop studying. [00:24:00] And that's where this whole like, oh, I study on and off. Bullshit comes in. Just know your study. . And then again, be okay saying no, be okay.
Being real specific with what you need. If you're another group of therapists came in and was like I don't know anything, they don't know. So the blind leading the blind only gets you lost. So once you become aware of that then at least you become aware of it and then can get the kind of help that you need, get the help, get the kind of structure and support that you.
And then the last one is really about managing your self-talk. You're probably worse at limiting yourself than anyone else, right? You're your only limiting factor. If you tell yourself that you don't want it because you don't really need it, then. , you won't study, you won't take the exam if you tell yourself that that you don't know anything.
Cuz you're, there's this battle of I have the years, but why do I keep thinking [00:25:00] that I'm this new grad that doesn't know anything? I had this conversation. I was like, this bitch is holding you. You are this person, and she used to be that person. She's that person. You are no longer that person. Cut that bitch outta your life, right?
It's the same person. But mentally, if you think you're still this new grad that doesn't know anything, but you have five years of experience, you've been studying for the last 12 months, and you still can't take the exam because you're making excuses for yourself, cut that bitch outta your life. , that's part of the management of the self-talk, so a lot more that goes into it.
But I just wanted to get you guys started with that. Because it's either other people's limiting beliefs. That's stopping you, that's introducing self-doubt or your own limiting beliefs that's stopping you from achieving your goal, right? You can buy all the books you want, you can join all the programs you want.
You can think you're doing all this stuff. [00:26:00] But if you don't manage who you're hanging out with, if you don't manage the limiting beliefs, you won't ever sit for the exam. And that's the first step to essentially becoming a certified hand therapist. And if that's your goal, then what needs to happen in order for make that, in order to make that possible, if that is your goal, to become a certified hand, the.
right? What needs to happen in order to make that possible for you? That's the question you should be asking yourself. , can I do it? Because the question would be a yes or no, right? So just keep that in mind as you are going into that season of I'm preparing to become a certified hand therapist.
All right? All right, y'all people, I gotta go. I gotta go. So I hope this helps you get some awareness. And then two, what to do about it. Cuz first you have to have awareness in order to take action. If you have no awareness, [00:27:00] then you can't do. So what can I say? All right, enjoy your weekend. Thanks for tuning in and if any of this resonated with you, take what you want and leave what you don't want.
But if it helped you, share it with a friend and it might help them too. Thanks guys. Have a great weekend. Bye
Hey, thanks for listening to Hoang's world podcast. If you are brand new to the hand therapy world, head over to my website, www . Hand therapy secrets.com, where you can get started with some of our free guides and paid programs for both OTs and PTs diving into the world of hand therapy. Or if you've been listening for a while watching on our YouTube channel and you think you could benefit from developing and moving your career further along in hand therapy, reach out to me and my team at info @ Hand therapy.secrets.com and tell us exactly what you're looking for, By the way, if you know someone who could benefit from today's show, please share.
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