Slow and steady to the finish line
On Thursday 17th of April 2025 I reached the end of this stage of the Camino, almost 120km covered over 5 days.
Each day I woke up with a clear agenda, walk to my next destination and guess what- that is exactly what I did. No distractions, no ifs, ands or buts. I had a plan and I did it.
There was something so comforting about the plan, a clear objective that I could achieve. A reminder to me that on the days I feel like I am no getting anywhere or I question why a child is making progress or a parent is frustrated maybe the objective needs to be more clearly defined, realistic in its achievability and backed by a clear focused determination.
I didn’t try to do more than was reasonable for me but also didn’t do less! I was honest and open about what could be achieved in 5 days. Another good thing to remember with work also.
As a behavioural therapist I of course know this all in theory, I can look at a goal or skill and break it down into manageable smaller steps and then support the acquisition of those individual steps, build them sequentially to then achieve the outcome as defined. In practice there are times when the wrong objective is chosen, we forget to prioritise what is most important or what is most possible or even more importantly what is going to have the great socially significant impact on the child and their family. Something to often remind myself of.
Walking to my finish line felt really amazing. Not because it was over (there are still 667km of the Camino to cover if I choose to go back) but because it was a good reminder that there is so much we can really achieve when we set a goal, make it realistic and take it step by step.
In line with wanting this short series of blogs to be a way to introduce the face behind Clever Tortoise I wanted to mention my mum, Margot! She is the essence of everything CT values, anything can be achieved when you commit a little every day. She dreamed of doing the Camino and spoke about it often. She is the reason I walked this week.
In November 2021 she passed away surrounded by so many who loved her. Her passing was full of love and connection and she lives on in the stories we share of her. She would want to be remembered by her ability to help and support everyone and anyone before they even knew they needed it. (Mum taught at the same school her whole working life and we have heard so many stories of the students she helped not just in achieving their education but with so much more). She made the best dinners and squashed more people in to our dining room table than you would have thought possible. She couldn’t sit by the fire without falling asleep, loved puzzles and books and her garden. Mum was strong and brave and always achieved what she set her mind to and she did.
Slow and steady we can achieve anything we set our mind to too