New Year…Welcome 2013
We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential. Ellen Goodman
There is a stationary store in a local beachside town which
is far too “old school” to have a surveillance camera. Yet, if it did, it would document my annual
visit in early December. That’s right, once
a year I visit this shop to make a solitary purchase; my appointment
calendar. I often contemplate going
“digital”, yet every year I find myself strolling into the store and admiring
the pristine, fresh pages anticipating plans, schedules and events for a new
year. I am pleasantly “old school” when
it comes to pencil and paper scheduling and the tactile satisfaction of holding
my “real” calendar.
Now, sitting at my desk, I have placed the “old” and “new”
side by side on my desk. One is clearly worn, even a bit scrappy with a
wrinkled cover and weathered pages with hundreds of scribbles, names,
notations, earmarked corners and plenty of experiences documented in shorthand
to commemorate 365 days of work, play, chores, joys and challenges. The other is shiny, with a smooth unblemished
cover, crisp white pages comprising an eager canvas awaiting the colors,
landscapes, characters and story of the next 365 days. One book holds the tale of life lived, the
other holds POTENTIAL.
This opening quotation cleverly captures the dilemma in
personal counseling. So often, the focus
on psychotherapy is on those “flawed” life situations; betrayal of trust in a
marriage, financial distress, our less than perfect bodies and attitudes and
challenges in overcoming the “flaws” of our childhood. Maybe,
as this quote suggests, the focus needs to shift to “potential.”
As many of you know, I love definitions. In taking a peek at the definition of the
word “potential” here is its extrapolation: Capable of development into
actuality. WOW, what a fantastic New
Year’s motto, “I am capable of developing
my dream, plan, attitude and ideas into actuality!” This fresh, blank calendar book is
anticipating stunning, spectacular potential to fill each day, each page of your
life, with capabilities of making your dreams come true!
In working with clients over the past 20 years, I am in awe
of how the human spirit is CAPABLE of dealing with the “flaws” of life. Hope in the midst of adversity, healing after
heartbreak and insight from loss. So many of my clients find the path to
contentment and confidence is through identifying their POTENTIAL, the ability
to apply courage, determination and inspiration to develop their greatest
self. As you embark on each page of this
New Year, consider your capabilities.
Your strengths, your wisdom attained from life experiences and your
creative desires. Make this a year of
diminished flaw seeking and monumental potential building!
