Are you ready for a new year and a new decade?
As I reflect on the previous decade I’m always amazed at all that can happen in what seems like a short period of time. On the first day of the last decade (January 1, 2010), my family moved onto a hospital ship in West Africa and lived there for a total of 5 years. It truly changed our lives.
We moved back to California in the middle of the decade to restart our lives in America. I completed my masters in counseling and began a private practice as a psychotherapist. The past 5 years were filled with ups and downs and the challenges of integrating back into our home culture. We all pushed through and made it!
We certainly went through a lot of change in the past ten years and I can only imagine all the growth that will take place in the coming decade.
Do you set goals?
I’m a big goal setter. Not “new year resolution goal setting” but the type where I set life long goals and track them over time. For example, one of my life goals is making music.
In my twenties, I was very involved in music getting a masters in vocal performance and was engaged in the world of opera and musical theater but my life took a big turn when I started to work in “people care” as a pastor, chaplain, and eventually a therapist.
I’ve stayed loosely involved with music, but during the past 5 years I completely shelved it. However, I realized I was no longer happy letting that musical gift be dormant and I’ve been taking steps to reintegrate it into my life. I intend to be much more involved in expressing myself through music by singing, and also playing the piano and hammered dulcimer (google it – it’s cool). You never know, in the very near future you might see me making music around Northern California.
What is your purpose on earth?
I know that is a big question so let me distill it down even further – what is your purpose for TODAY? One of my biggest struggles in life is being present in the moment.
Do you spend too much time grieving the negative aspects of your past OR work yourself into an anxious frenzy by thinking about the “what ifs” of the future?
Purpose of this blog
Hopefully this blog will help with the problem of obsessing over the past or future by encouraging you to focus on the here and now. I want to provide you thoughts, tips, and tools for yourself, your job, and your relationships.
Over this coming year, I will be writing a couple of blogs each month on a variety of topics. The first topic I will tackle are four RED FLAGS that surface in our relationships (romantic and non) and what we can do about them.
My hope is that the blog will be of use to each of you. If you have a topic that you would like for me to cover in this blog feel free to share with me.
Happy new year and decade to each of you!
Marty