January 2023
🐰🐰 17 Questions (Oh, and Happy New Year!)
"Every year you make a resolution to change yourself. This year, make a resolution to be yourself."― Unknown
The only constant is change...
Wishing you health and happiness in the new year!
As you set your intentions for the new year, be mindful to incorporate opportunities to nurture, nourish, and indulge yourself along the way.
I have a magazine article that I have kept since January 1997. The article, published in Glamour, was titled 17 Questions that Could Change Your Life.
I have moved six times in the 25 years since I tore the article out of the magazine. It’s wrinkled, folded, and stained, yet I value it and return to it because I have found many of the questions to be helpful as the path of my own journey has twisted and turned over the years. I hope you find them as thought-provoking and helpful as I have.
If I had to wear my philosophy of life as a motto on a T-shirt, what would it be? Of course, no one can be summed up in an epigrammatic sentence or two, but, just for fun, why not try?
When was the last time I felt joy? Not just pleasure, joy. Was it provoked by a someone, a something, a somewhere? That soaring feeling still lives inside of me. What can I do to wake it up?
Is there anything unfinished in my life that I am willing to walk away from forever? If I haven’t thus far learned French, gotten a dog, started my own business, maybe it’s time to make room for new dreams. Hit delete. See what happens.
Am I inhibited by a fear of failing? Just for a moment, pretend that fear is a triumph, not a shame. Now what would I reach for, what would I risk?
If I were to take my ten-year old self to lunch, what would she think of me? Do I still have her passions, her opinions, her willfulness? Do I still know what she knows?
Do I believe in God? What exactly is my position on the Big Questions? Do I have spiritual beliefs that are truly my own, not someone else’s?
Have I made a home for myself? Or am I still waiting for My Real Life to begin? I already know I don’t have to be married or mortgaged or otherwise permanently committed to nest. So what’s keeping me from saying This is My Real Life right now?
If I could take a six-month sabbatical from my current job, what would I do? Travel around the world? Perform good deeds? Put my bottom in a chair and my head in a book? If I don’t know the answer, how can I begin to figure out what my dream is?
What do I like most about my appearance? What are my secret vanities? Can I be a show-off for a change? Can I strut my stuff on a regular basis?
How do I envision myself at age 60? What would I like to look like? What would I like to know that I don’t know now? What should I be doing now that I will be happily looking back on then?
Am I living my life for an audience? Have I internalized my watchful someone: Mom, my best friend, an ex-boyfriend? Is my audience worthy of judging me? How can I banish them forever and live for myself?
What can I do about the people I have disappointed and been disappointed by? If I could heal a damaged relationship, would I? Is there anyone whose lost friendship and regard I mourn? Or is it time to move on?
How much money will I need for retirement? Does simply asking the question make me hyperventilate? Can I stand to do the math? Am I brave enough to begin?
Am I as healthy as I want to be? If I imagine myself circa 2000 (!!!) (let’s try for 2025 or 2030!), how would I like to feel, physically and mentally. What steps should I be taking now to make sure that ideal becomes reality?
Am I capable of being alone? Does the prospect of an entire weekend by myself stimulate or panic me? If I’m not in psychic shape for the occasional bout of solitude, I need to be. Start thinking about what is scary about aloneness and how to overcome it.
Do I see success as a lavish banquet or a scarce commodity? When a good friend triumphs, do I feel depleted - as if there’s a limited amount of goodies to go around? Is it possible to transform envy into a this-means-I-can-do-it-too signal?
How do I want to love and be loved? What is my definition of a wonderful marriage, partnership, love affair? How close have I come to finding that? What is left for me to know or do in order to attract the love I want?
Unique & special MONTH holidays:
Some of my favorites:
National Blood Donor Month
January 2 World Introvert Day
January 3 Festival of Sleep Day
January 10 Houseplant Appreciation Day
January 13 Blame Someone Else Day
January 16 MLK Day of Service (https://www.doi.gov/pmb/eeo/mlk-day-service)
January 31 Inspire your Heart with Art Day
I'm grateful to know you and I thank you for letting me be a part of your journey. Please let me know if there is anything more I can be doing to support you.
“Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the wrong. Sometime in life you will have been all of these.” ― quote attributed to any of the following: Gautama Buddha, Walter Scott, Lloyd Shearer, George Washington Carver, Dale Turner, Ann Landers, Bob Goddard, Anonymous (a great reminder to sign your work!)
Some housekeeping items:
Terms & Conditions:
I have a legal and ethical responsibility to maintain current consents for treatment and accurate emergency contact information. I also am required to provide you with clear and comprehensive terms and conditions including a Good Faith Estimate outlining potential costs, attendance policies, confidentiality guidelines, and other relevant information.
I will be sending out an updated Therapy Agreement and Consent in late December or early January. Please be sure to review these documents and return them with your signature. Let me know if you have any questions.
For a sneak peak: https://www.sunriselcsw.com/fee-schedule
Scheduling:
I will be taking January 1 as a holiday. If our regular session time will be impacted, let's talk about choosing a different day.
This season gets busy with holiday preparations, more activities on your social calendar, and end-of-year projects and exams. I believe that family, friends, and fun are priorities in our lives, and am happy to reschedule our session times when you have something enjoyable to do (or otherwise important, like studying or a project). Please remember to cancel or reschedule your appointments with as much advance notice as possible so that we can reschedule and I can offer the session time to someone else. No shows and late cancelations (fewer than 24 hours notice) are subject to a no show charge.
I am changing up the weekly journal prompts this year. We’ve used 52 Lists in 2021 and 52 Lists for Happiness in 2022, and I encourage you to check out the rest of Moorea Seal’s books (like 52 Lists for Calm!). For 2023, I will share a favorite quote each week and I encourage you to treat yourself to a new journal and pen, find a cozy space, make a mug of coffee or tea or cocoa, and write for 5-15 minutes each week. I promise you, it’s a much more fulfilling use of your time than scrolling through social media.
https://www.sunriselcsw.com/weekly-journal-prompts-1
Crisis Numbers:
I recommend adding these to your contacts in your phone. If you don't need them, you might be able to share them with someone who does.
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: the new 988 line is live! 988 is the new Suicide Prevention Lifeline number. It's exciting to have an easy-to-remember number available to access crisis support quickly. For more information: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/current-events/the-lifeline-and-988/. The old number remains active as well: 1-800-273-8255
Text crisis line... you can send a text to 741741 and just write HOME and someone will get right back to you. https://www.crisistextline.org/text-us/
Trans Lifeline: (877) 565-8860
National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233
Credits:
(http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/january.htm)
