New Year, New Outlook: 365 Days to Thrive
A new outlook for each day of the New Year…
Happy New Year!! The start of a new year is often a great time for reflection and goal setting. A time to look at all that has been accomplished in the past year and adjusting some goals that weren’t obtained. It is often the thought that a New Year means new goals, new attitude, or changed behavior(s). Some people put pressure upon themselves to create New Year’s Resolutions during this time, but only to find that by February 1st, those resolutions are forgotten and a thing of the past.
While the New Year sounds like a great time for these new goals, the reality is each day is a new opportunity to reflect and create a new goal, create a new vision or a new journey. Let’s remind ourselves that each day the sun rises and the sun sets, we are gifted with another amazing opportunity to do our best, learn something new, and conquer a challenge we have never faced before.
My new chapter…
I certainly learned this lesson in 2021. My ‘new day’ came August 4th, 2021 as it was the day I decided to start my own private practice, South Collective Counseling, LLC. It was not on January 1, 2021. It was precisely the fourth day of August 2021 that I chose to start a new goal for myself—embarking on an unknown journey. I did not have to wait for 1/1/22 to start this new journey. I made the choice to step out on faith and do something different.
The thought of starting a business and doing something “different” from my normal routine was scary for me. I had my doubts and was very apprehensive. As a Black female opening a private practice, would I be taken seriously? Would my 20+ years of experience in mental health be enough? Would I fail? I questioned my decision, but I also knew if I didn’t leap now, I would never know what the possibilities would be. Four months later, I am proud to say that South Collective Counseling is thriving, and I am loving my new role as business owner and clinical supervisor.
Our diverse team of clinicians is growing, and I am so excited to hear the feedback from clients as they enter the doors of South Collective Counseling. Clients feel welcomed, safe, and accepted. Lives are being transformed in the private walls of SCC. I would have never known the impact my decision could have on others, if I had not woken up on 8/4/21 and made the choice to start South Collective Counseling.
At some point, we each will need to decide to do something different, change a behavior, end a relationship, or decide to go to therapy. Regardless of the date, it is the determination and will to start something new. Whatever “IT” is, you will never know what is possible until you go down that unknown and unfamiliar path.
How will you thrive in 2022?
Growth and change require making different choices. Decide that 2022 will be a year that you make a daily commitment to evolve and reflect, whether it is January, or June, or even December. Be courageous, be open to the possibilities. Someone is depending on you to make a change. It might be your family, your job, or your community. It starts with one thought, one behavior, and an unwavering outlook that each day is a new opportunity to make a difference.
Be well and God bless you.
Melissa South, MA, LPC, ACS, NCC
Proud Owner & Clinical Supervisor of South Collective Counseling, LLC
