Ringing in the New Year
By Charmaine Fuller

The beginning of the year is often the time of reflection and projection. We look back on the previous year sometimes with fondness, other times it may be guilt, or perhaps we do so with gratitude that it’s done. As we close out the year and begin a new one, it feels natural to set goals and intentions for the upcoming twelve months. We at AZRI, have been doing some of that ourselves.

Since the beginning of the COVID we, like so many of you, have had to change the way we operate and engage with our clients, care partners, and ourselves. We improved access and ease to getting treatment including virtual appointments. As a result, our therapists see clients all over the state. We’ve been able to hire more therapists. We’ve expanded our intern program, which means we can offer more affordable therapy options to a wider variety of clients. We’ve added more treatment partners in pursuit of offering a holistic approach to mental health. And we’ve added psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to our treatment options.

As we close out 2023 and prepare to welcome in 2024, we are excited about our plans to continue to growth of AZRI in line with our values of offering the highest levels of relational therapy to Arizona residents and continuing to provide training and education to therapists, old and new. We are so excited about our goals for the future of Arizona Relationship Institute and are incredibly grateful for all our amazing clients who trust us to accompany them on their journey to healing and better mental health.

New Goals For A New Year

So, in pursuit of all of us being intentional and deliberate in setting our new year resolutions, here are some suggestions for setting goals.

Be mindful!

Take some time to meditate on the previous year and how far you’ve come. You can do this by sitting down and setting aside time to think about this exact subject, but meditation can also be journaling, making a list, or even talking to a friend about it.

Write it down!

The simple act of taking pencil to paper is magical (and actual psychological) experience that helps our brains encode information more efficiently. So, write down how far you’ve come in the last year and use that information to help guide you toward where you want to go next year.

Keep it simple!

When setting goals, make sure you have kept it simple and plausible. By taking the time to reflect on the previous year, you will have a better idea of what you have accomplished, thereby informing on what you are capable of accomplishing. Throw in a goal or two that are incredibly easy to accomplish for that extra hit of dopamine and serotonin, to keep your motivation going.

Remind yourself!

When you’ve set your goals, put them in a place where you will see them often – on the refrigerator, a white board, the lock screen on your phone, or your bathroom mirror. To further encode those goals into your brain, state them out loud often. The act of using your voice to state your goals frequently is an exercise in mindfulness and helps to keep those goals in the forefront of your mind.

Be mindful!

Yep, this one gets stated twice. When the time comes (as it inevitably will), that you have gotten off track, forgotten about those goals, or simply gotten burned out, that’s ok! Practice some compassion and patience for yourself. We all get off track sometimes. That’s all a part of being human and growing. Simply notice that you have gotten off track. This is an invitation to take some time to reassess your goals and see if they still work for you. If they don’t, good job figuring that out! Take some time to set some new goals. If they do still work for you, switch up the way you remind yourself of your goals. If you had them on your fridge before, moving them to your bathroom mirror may be helpful to getting yourself back on track.

Reward yourself!

As you accomplish your goals or meet milestones in pursuit of your goals, reward yourself. This can be as simple as asking a friend for a high-five or as elaborate as you can imagine. Acknowledging your hard work to yourself or to others is an important part of growth. You’ve done well, you deserve the acknowledgement!

Tips and tricks

Some other tips and tricks for accomplishing your goals:

• • • Find an accountability partner. Asking a friend our family member to help keep you accountable on working towards your goals can be a huge help.
    • Talk to your therapist. Your therapist can help you meet your goals through a variety of ways including making them a part of your treatment plan, helping you find resources, or teaching you new skills.
    • Make it fun. This is where you get to be creative! Maybe you make it fun by getting a poster board a drawing a thermometer that you get to fill in as you get closer and closer to goal, maybe it’s a habit tracker in your journal, maybe it’s an app on your phone. The ways to make goal setting and accomplishment more fun are countless!

And as always, we at Arizona Relationship Institute are here for you and excited to help you reach all your goals, in the new year, and always.