Michelle Harcha

Searching for purpose and meaning for my life began at an early age. When my dog died from cancer when we both were 13 years old, I promised her I would find a cure and planned to become a veterinarian. Beginning in high school, and continuing throughout my life, I read spiritual teachings and took many classes, courses, and workshops to better understand who I am, what truly matters, and how I contribute in the world.

I heard many spiritual teachers say that by changing your thinking you change your life, and I searched for a method to make that happen. Then, in 2010 while attending a conference in Arizona, I had the opportunity to take my first workshop with Byron Katie and learn about The Work. Since 2011, I have attended a weekend workshop almost every summer with Katie at Omega Institute immersing myself in the Work. I realized that I spent so much time ruminating about the past or stressing about the future, that I was rarely experiencing the present moment.

Doing The Work on the people in my life who I felt harmed or bullied me was also life changing: I was stuck in a victim role and was tired of it! I began to see that I had been doing the best I could at the time, and so were they. I learned to stand up for myself and set better boundaries through The Work.

Although I had achieved my promise to myself (and my dog) by becoming a veterinarian, I became burned out. I spent 10 years in private practice, 12 years in industry, and 10 years in academia.

Each time I burned out I blamed my boss, the job, and the veterinary profession. Rarely did I look at myself as the cause and take personal accountability for my burnout. Through The Work I have looked at the reasons I did not say no to someone when I needed to, and the realizations have been powerful. Some of the beliefs that controlled my life and caused me to say yes included a need to be perfect, a belief that things had to be done a certain way that only I could manage, a fear that I would let people down, and that if I didn’t do it, no one would. On top of those, I was convinced I would lose my job if I said no. These stressful thoughts kept me exhausted and contributed to burnout. Taking these beliefs through The Work helped me see my role. I also noticed I kept putting off going to the School for The Work and working on my certification for the same reasons. Once I decided to leave academia and start my own consulting company, I pursued certification. Again, I used The Work to leave a job that gave me a steady income, health insurance, great benefits, and work that I loved, especially working with veterinary students.

I currently offer workshops and individual sessions doing The Work. Because I have changed my career path several times in the profession, I love working with individuals that are going through any career transition. As a breast cancer survivor, I have used the work to examine thoughts about my body post-surgery and the fear of reoccurrence.

Moving forward, I offer The Work to those who have a desire to change their stressful thinking. The Work is a tool that complements any practice you may be using. I always knew I needed to change the way I thought. The Work is HOW you change your thinking. And it is profound.

What are you waiting for? Contact me to discuss how this amazing and simple process of meditation and inquiry can be incorporated into your personal and professional life.