As the year is coming to a close many find themselves reviewing their successes and set-backs.  Many are setting goals with high ambitions for the new year.  Whether, you find yourself enjoying the process of goal setting or you are actually dreading it, I would like to offer a slight shift in the setting of goals for the New Year.  A process that involves identifying your core values and offering yourself COMPASSION.

It is likely that you have heard before that a practice of gratitude can increase your level of happiness.  Or perhaps you may KNOW you Should be more grateful, yet at times is may be difficult to FEEL grateful.  It can be a struggle to cultivate and practice gratitude when life is hard.  When you are struggling.  When you are carrying a heavy load. When you feel burdened down with depression or spinning with anxiety.  I would like to offer a bit of the science behind the practice of gratitude and offer a simple way to build a lifestyle filled with gratitude.  

Writing in a journal has a significant positive effect on one’s mental, emotional and physical health.  There is something powerful about putting pen to paper.  Neuroscience shows that the act of writing connects differently in your brain, rather than simply typing.