New year. New day. New you. New me.
As you have probably gathered by this point in knowing me and my office, I love “new”!
5 years ago when I was busily preparing to open my practice, it was all about the “new.” Everything, from the business license I needed to obtain, to the website, to the paint on the walls, to the water dispenser was new, new, new. I loved being lost in the momentum of things, my brain humming constantly about everything I could and should be doing to get ready to open my doors that April of 2013.
Over the next 5 years, I mostly poured all of myself into my practice, because that’s what you do when you have a new business. Like a newborn baby, New Day took all the energy and focus. And that’s what was appropriate. You don’t expect your newborn baby to make it’s own dinner after a couple of years, do you?
It could be a little confusing, I think, for me and other people, exactly where New Day begins and where I, as a person, begin and end. On the one hand I wanted to pour all my time, energy, and focus into this growing entity. And because that’s what I was doing, I came to be identified completely with my practice, to the point where out in the world “New Day” and “Katie Ray” felt synonymous. On the other hand, I was very clear from the beginning that this business/practice/entity was to be a COMMUNITY.
I can’t explain how incredibly rewarding I found it, for example, to attend Amber’s wedding in October and see people Amber met through New Day at the wedding and included in the reception. The sense of meaning and belonging that people have gotten from this community has gone beyond my highest hopes when everything was brand new.
And where am I in all of this? New Day, the community. New Day, the location in Chicago where you go to know yourself as lighter and brighter through Network Spinal Analysis care. New Day, the business that has gone from infant to small child. Me, the individual, the doctor, the woman, who created this business and community. I am part of it, but I am also my own person.
It has been time for me to reinvest some focus in the Me that adjusts your spine every week. Don’t worry though. I’m not going anywhere! You might not even notice a difference.
Where the focus goes, as they say, so the energy flows. One small area where this shift is taking place is in the social media for New Day– in particular our Instagram.
First, let me stop and say THANK YOU so much for following us on Facebook and Instagram. We have a wonderful community of you who are connected to us online through social media (facebook.com/newdaynsa and @newdaynsa if you’d like to connect).
When we started doing Instagram, I completely abandoned my own (admittedly meagre) account and focused completely on growing our New Day following. Our posts focus on our office, the neighborhood and city, and myself.
You won’t stop seeing posts that show me in my life entirely, but you will see less of me as I continue to clarify where New Day begins and I begin and end. Our posts will be an accurate representation of the practice, the people who are part of it, and neighborhood and city.
If you’d like to see more “me” in my life, I welcome that. I embrace the opportunity for you to know me more, as a person, not just the doctor. You can follow me on Instagram if you like @katierayofsunlight 
