Mental & Emotional Health
What's Holding You Back?
Terry Barnett-Martin, M.S., LMFT
by Terry Barnett-Martin
If you knew that you would be successful if you took a chance and ventured out, would you do it? How about if you knew that you’d learn something important even if you it didn’t work out the way you’d planned? Would you try anyway? It takes a certain courage, which all of us have somewhere deep inside, to trust ourselves and let our gifts lead rather than doing only what is predictable and safe. Safe is understandable, and you could make a case for it, but if you play it safe, you can fall short of the greatness that lies within you, your true purpose for being here. If you make even small strides to be who you were meant to be and do what you were born to do, the world will change for the better, without a doubt.
At the beginning of every year I ask myself what more I can do to use my gifts in the world. How can I do what I do best and naturally that will help in some way to bring out the best in others? When the clock struck midnight at the end of 2014, I felt the refreshing hope of a clean slate, a fresh chance to recalibrate, and an invitation to walk into my visions for the New Year. Not so much goals or resolutions, visions are ideas that we breathe life into and use the year to develop and birth. I guess you could say the New Year is pregnant with possibilities, that when nurtured become the reality that leads us. The New Year invites us to lean into our hopes and choose our path, clear the way, and sort out what fits and what no longer does.
Relationships:
Take stock of the relationships that most impact your life. For those who support and encourage you to be yourself, bless them with your attention and time. For relationships that trouble you or leave you feeling small or on shaky ground, build good fences to connect in a healthier way and to protect yourself should they be harmful. Building relationship fences is about promoting respect for yourself and others. With each relationship there is a unique fence that defines the type of connection you have or want to have. For instance, with a loving and supportive relationship you might imagine a simple split rail fence between you. There you can meet and lean on the fence from your respective sides as you comfortably share your ideas, thoughts and experiences. These are the precious gems of our lives, and they always include mutual trust and respect.
