Thoughtful Thursday: New Horizons to Move Towards...Starting Now!

I have many things flitting through my mind these days. Teachers Pay Teachers plans, website announcements, new CMTEs! I have accomplished most of the goals that I established for myself at the beginning of last school year, and I am pretty proud of myself. The old school year is over in seven days, and I have an opportunity to set goals for myself, both personally and professionally, at the start of my new year.

Last year, I wrote my goals down on an index card which I taped up next to my desk. It is still over there (but my desk has moved - I have to rearrange my pictures to put my bulletin board near the new desk - put it on the list!). I wanted to focus on happiness, play the ukulele, get two CMTE courses up and running, and eat better. Well, I was able to get about 75% of these goals finished, which makes me feel pretty good about the 2017-2018 school year. Now it's time to start thinking about next year.

I always set myself some goals, but I rarely get things finished the way I want them to be finished. This year, I didn't get both of my CMTEs up, but one is opening and the other awaits recording and uploading. I'm close to getting both finished, and may be able to finish that entire task before the start of 2018-2019. I also didn't really eat better, though I did make it a priority to buy more fruits and vegetables. I am proud of what I did over this past year, and I am ready to start thinking about my new goals - my new horizons.

Do you ever think about where you want to go? 

I do an exercise where I brainstorm (I know, not a real big surprise that I brainstorm) what my future will be like if I stay right where I am for the next five years. The next part of the exercise is to dream about what I could do if there were no barriers in my way, and the last part is to combine the two into something doable. I ran this exercise about a year ago with a bunch of music therapists, and I can say that I was able to move towards my combination plan this year. Sometimes, all you need to do is to set your intentions to get started.

This year, I am going to do the same exercise. I will sit down with a large piece of paper, get out my fancy colored pens, and start to dream. I will carryover the CMTE thing, definitely keep the eating better focus, and see what else will happen in my future planning. I will figure out some way to include these goals into my personal bullet journal and into my professional practices. I will write more about this, I am sure!!

Off I go into this Thursday - I will remember my mantra, figure out how to be the best therapist for these students, and move into this day. Tomorrow is big city shopping day, so I am going to work to finish up some projects and then go shopping at stores I never go to unless I am in the big city! Time to buy fancy school supplies and some Fall break treats. It's going to be fun, and I have no obligations to anyone other than to myself. Tomorrow's plans also include lunch at a specific fast food restaurant - a little taste of home, as it were! Curly fries and deep-fried tacos. Mmmmm. I will then fix my thoughts on my new horizons and start my brainstorming process. There you go!