Los Angeles Therapist Yvonne Thomas, Ph.D. on “How to Recognize Both Your 2022 Progress and Ways To Grow In The New Year” (12/29/2022)

Do you want to get a great head start on 2023? Are you looking to take a real, tangible step forward in your life in the new year? The truth is that you don’t have to wait for the calendar to turn over to do so. A major part of giving yourself the best chance to have a great new year is to properly think about the year that you just had. That’s just one of the tips from Los Angeles therapist Dr. Yvonne Thomas on how you can give yourself a better chance for more success in 2023 and beyond.

Now is the time when many of us naturally reflect back on the previous year. Unfortunately, too many people do this in a negative way. It can be too easy thinking about what you may not have achieved and what didn’t go your way. However, there are probably some things that were positive in your life or that you learned from. As challenging as it can be, don’t just focus on what didn’t go right. Be sure to look at what actually did so you have an accurate perspective of your year.

Do this by giving yourself credit for the progress you did make in 2022. Acknowledge your growth and what it took for you to get there. On the other hand, perhaps you tried to make progress and it didn’t go as well as planned or as far as you had hoped. In that case, give yourself credit for your attempt and your effort. If you tried something and it didn’t work, that does not mean you are a “failure.” Rather, it shows that you may have discovered something that is not going to work for you. It also indicates that you have the ability to make an attempt, which means you can make another one in the near future in a different way.

Now is the time of year to create and/or build upon goals and to chart a new path for how you want your life to go. December and January are when so many people identify and commit to ways of growing that will serve them throughout the new year. If you did have some positive results in 2022, now is the time to think of ways that you can build onto the goals that you may have taken positive steps towards or already reached. Pinpoint what did and did not work for you in 2022 so you can continue to reach your 2023 goals with the ways that benefited you this past year.

That being said, it’s not always easy to figure out what your goals are, how to accomplish them, and how to stay committed to them. For many people, it can be very difficult. However, you don’t have to do any of this alone. Working with an experienced psychologist like Yvonne Thomas, Ph.D. can help you figure out what your goals are, how to reach them in healthy ways, and how to stay committed to them.