What's in a year...

If I asked you to reflect on the last year, what would you say? I know for me, 2017 proved to be a difficult year, and many people I've talked have expressed the same. One of my friends lost his father, another, lost his job, and my wife ran herself ragged working at a job that took far more than it gave. I found myself in the consistent throes of a quiet and terrible depression. While there were many good and exciting things that happened to me in 2017, in many ways I thought that I had failed-mostly as a provider-and I heaped upon myself the sole responsibility for the difficult times my wife and I went through. To be clear, she never made me feel guilty, but my Achilles heel has always been my confidence and self talk. There were times when I (and I'm sure many others) felt like giving up and giving in all together. I thought that I had achieved as much and gone as far as I could (in my career) and, as Tony Robbins says, "One of the worst things that can happen to you is, you achieve your dream and say, 'Is this it?' because then you go into despair." I believe that is true. But regardless of the trials, difficulties, and pain we experienced, here we are. In the words of Sadghuru, "You're successful, means you ARE alive." Whatever difficulty you went through in the past year and whatever difficulty has carried over, do not discount it, and do not give up. Eventually, your clouds will clear; the sun will shine on you again, because it must! As a therapist, I often have my client's engage in Positive Psychology exercises (which is essentially the science of "Learned optimism"). If I could sum positive psychology into a sentence it would be, "Play to your strengths-none are too small-and find the rainbows in the rain." I'm happy to report that I have made some big changes that have brought me a greater sense of fulfillment, and I can see how the difficulties I faced prepared me for the year ahead. My life has changed for many reasons, and so can yours! The book that I am about to publish was as much a product of my pain as it was of my creativity so, I say again, do not discount where you are; your life will change in time and it will change when you change; your life is your own, don't let it fall victim or prey to the throes of negativity, depression or despair, you are more capable than you think, and capable of more than you think! Own your story, embrace the pain, and find the rainbows in the rain!

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