Counseling for Individuals & Couples

By the warm glow of the Television

Originally uploaded by Heather Durdil

Check out this article I found…. turns out sleeping with your TV on will cause you to gain weight…. amazing right?!?!

I wanted to share this article with you for 2 reasons…

One, to demonstrate how so many of the little simple things we do influence our lives in profound ways

and two, how some of the littlest changes can make the biggest differences in your life. I mean how easy is it to start sleeping without the TV if weight loss is your goal, right?

Often times we become our own worst enemy when trying to create change in our lives because we forget to look outside the box and examine what’s really going on. We assume we know what got us into a particular situation, and we end up holding on so tightly to the belief that there is one way out that we forget to “turn our TV’s off.” We curse ourselves for lack of willpower, become discouraged with the lack of results, and spend so much time focusing on the lack that we never think to look for other options.

Options are change. Change is having options. And, the options are endless my friends, you just have to learn how to look for them!

Options come from turning things inside out, upside down, and backwards. They do not come from the same old same old, and they certainly do not come from will power.

I’m lucky enough to get to witness change almost on a daily basis, because I know how to turn thing upside down and inside out. I know how to find options in any situation.  And this year, I want you to be able learn how to do this too! So, I’ve created a simple 7 step program, to make 2011 be the year you actually keep and reach your New Year’s Resolutions.

This new program will be available next week through my blog and will include both an MP3 instructional guide and work book. Using these tools I’ll teach you the steps to turning things upside down and backwards so you can create endless options in your own life!

What are your New Year’s Resolutions for 2011? Are you ready to reach them?

Seattle Fireworks over Elliot Bay – www.SeattleFireworks.net

Originally uploaded by SeattleFireworks

Happy New Year!

With 2011 freshly starting, and everyone still motivated to keep their new year’s resolutions I think now is a great time for us to discuss change. As a therapist, I get asked this question all the time: “Can people change?” The answer…. YES, ABSOLUTELY!

Change, growth, healing, whatever you want to call it, is totally possible, and is possible for each and every person. There’s just one catch, you can’t change someone else you can only change yourself.

This distinction is so important, and where so many people end up going wrong. Happiness, whether in a relationship, with yourself, in life overall, with your physical appearance, or at work only can come from one place… YOU. No matter where you’ve come from, what you’ve been through, what your goals in life are, your level of happiness is entirely up to you.

It’s a funny example, but The Bachelor this season is an excellent illustration of this.

Here’s a guy who had some pretty serious commitment issues, who went on a reality TV show to find love because he believed he’d find happiness through someone else. He believed, as so many of us do, that his lack of love was because of other people; the right woman hadn’t entered his life. Ultimately, he discovered that his lack of love and happiness had nothing to do with the women, or lack of the right woman, it came from within him.

If there was one lesson I’d wish everyone could learn in their lifetime, this would be it. Because once you get this concept, once you understand your part in your happiness, the possibilities become endless. Change, growth, happiness are so possible. I see it everyday, in my clients, in my own life, and in the people around me. All it takes is learning where to look for it, and who to look for it from.

Keep checking back this month for more posts about changing your life.