Seeking Growth

It's that time again.....THE HOLIDAYS. For many people this congers up either excitement or dread. In my business, it's most often the dread that we talk about. I think the dread comes from a hopefulness that THIS year will be different. This year my life and the people in my life will act, treat me, remember, etc, etc..... and be exactly like this image I hold in my mind of the "perfect" holiday. Unfortunately, for most people that haven't experienced great years of holiday memories, this year will most likely not be that much different if you continue to associate with those difficult people. Why do we set ourselves up for this fall every year? I think it's because by human nature, or our neurological hard-wiring, many of us are optimists. We want to believe that this year, people in our life will grow up, take responsibility for themselves, have a moment of clarify about their dysfunction, treat us kindly, or change for the better. We want to live in that...

In addition to my work as a psychotherapist, I am a career counselor at a local technical college. In this role I have the pleasure of working with students from around the world. I am so in aware of the students that I meet that have left economically or politically oppressed countries to come to the United States to try and start a new life. Some of the most awe inspiring stories are those individuals who are very well educated and held professional careers in their home countries, yet come to the US and have to work in positions that are the bottom-rung in a profession where they were at one time in an advanced standing. I spent the morning today with a woman from the middle east, who worked as a physician in a hospital for 9 years before coming to the US. Here, she needs to work as a nursing assistant, making probably $10.00 an hour, because she loves working in healthcare and this is the only position that she is licensed to do here. She told me she is spending the next two-three ...