Welcome to 2016!

To be honest, this is my favorite time of year.  I do love the fall & winter holidays, but New Year’s Day is really my absolute favorite.  Though I can barely stay awake to actually ring in the year and parties are not my forte, I love having time to specifically reflect on the prior year and devote time to goal planning!

Research shows that writing your goals down actually increases the likelihood that you will follow through and succeed.  So yes — I write them all down!

But before we can look forward, it’s always nice to take a look back and see the progress that has been made. The truth is I do this more often with my clients and their families. It is exciting to look back and see how far they have come and how much they have learned.  Why not apply that to myself as well? Without further ado, here are some of the noteworthy highlights from my year.

Highlights from 2015:

• wrote and shared new songs here at Music Therapy Kids to address specific student IEP objectives
• bought a mac (finally!) and survived the learning curve of iMovie and garageband.
• spent spring break with family at St. George Island in Florida.
• created a video course specifically about music therapy in the school setting (hopefully to be released later this year)
• moved my private practice into a dedicated music therapy clinic space.
• vacationed with my husband in Cancun
• successfully got music therapy services applied to a client’s deductible through private insurance
• potty trained my 3yr old
• hired a new employee after my first relocated to another city
• attended regional and national music therapy conferences
• lost 20+ pounds by completely changing my diet
• spent Christmas in Tennessee with my family (NINE whole days!!)

I will say that most of the “highlights” actually had highs and lows. Each item came with its fair share of frustration and difficulty. In fact, this image floating around the internet really hit home with me:

What I keep telling myself (and everyone that I talk to) is that perseverance is the key. You have to keep consistently doing the work over and over again. Refuse to give up and keep showing up.  That has always been how I view things and it will continue to be my practice for 2016.

So What’s ahead?

I have BIG plans for 2016 and I can’t wait to get started. Without sharing “too much too soon” here are a few things I want to tackle this year!

• use the 12 pound weights I purchased months ago during all my workouts
• grow the Music Therapy Kids email list to at least 1000 (eek!)
• share a singable book video once per month
• vacation again with my parents and my family in Florida during spring break and travel again with my husband in the summer.
• increase my employees caseload to full time
• utilize a virtual assistant effectively

I will also be launching an exciting new project here at Music Therapy Kids so stay tuned!

Before I go, I wanted to take a moment to tell you that I am so grateful for this life and the opportunity to share with you here at Music Therapy Kids. Thank you for going on this journey with me.  Here’s to 2016!

Cheers!
Mary