Meet Jon Steele | Small Business Owner and LMFT

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jon Steele and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jon, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
Two habits stick out to me, self kindness and the ability to pivot. Self kindness allows me to change my inner dialogue from judgement to self compassion, especially with mistakes and failures. Instead of “beating myself up” I’ve learned to speak to myself like I would with someone I care for which empowers and motivates me. With judgement, I’d freeze and get stuck in my mistakes but with self kindness I could acknowledge my emotions and keep pursuing my goals. The second is the ability to pivot which is increasing my flexibility when plans change. Being a therapist and father with a young family, my plans are constantly shifting. I found myself getting stuck in my disappointment that I couldn’t complete all my plans that I’d give up everything. I learned that if I shifted or pivoted my plans without judgment I was much more apt to accomplish the things I wanted to. For instance, when needing exercise I’d tell myself, today I’m going to run 5 miles. But as the day went by, my energy and time would change, so I’d have to pivot. Sometimes it’d end up running 3 miles or pivot all the way to getting a stretch in at 10p. Either way, I’ve learned and still practice the art of pivoting instead of judging my plans/expectations.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
As a therapist, I find the art in developing client’s mental fitness and healing through childhood traumas and life stressors. I specialize in working with athletes and professionals through issues like anxiety, grief/loss, and trauma. I like to focus on building mental fitness by establishing a holistic approach to a healthy lifestyle while pursuing emotional and mental healing. My sports background as a collegiate athlete sets me apart as I’ve experienced high-pressure environments on and off the field. I found plenty of challenges on my therapist journey. They started with my career transition from working with youth to pursuing my Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT). I didn’t have enough Psychology credits from my bachelor’s, so I took an online Psychology course where I ended up finding a job as an Academic Counselor. Working and school had their challenges, including physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion to dealing with the constant stress of assignments. After graduation came the reality of learning how to be a practicing MFT while constantly seeking hours which counted towards licensure. I can remember so much doubt, anxiety, and exhaustion in the process of obtaining 3,000 hours. It took me about 5 years before I got my license, and through it all, the journey was rich with obstacles and challenges which made it that much more rewarding in the end.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Such a fun question! I’d start off with a multitude of amazing coffee shops, my favorites include Dark Horse, Blue Bottle, Seven Seas and Hamlett. If you’re searching for some breakfast, I’d find myself at The Cottage in La Jolla, some of the best scones ever! I could spend my whole time on food itself so I’m going to branch out into some activities. A list of places to walk near the water would be Hotel Del in Coronado, Mission Bay, Harbor Island, and catching a sunset on Sunset Cliffs. And being a sports enthusiast I’d definitely try to catch a Padres Game at Petco Park, just a beautiful stadium!!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
One of the key books in my life is called Self Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Kristen Neff. The concept of embracing self-kindness instead of criticism has given me freedom to move through the myriad of life’s experiences. From successes to failures, when I’m kind to myself, I’m able to acknowledge my experience as it is and not become overwhelmed by it. And then speak in kindness to learn from whatever the circumstance. Now its definitely a habit that is still forming but its been so empowering during my journey as a person and a therapist.

Website: jonsteeletherapy.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-steele-169061a6/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonsteelelmftsports/