It’s the time of New Year’s resolutions. Many people’s resolutions revolve around health: eat better, exercise more, reduce stress, quit smoking or drinking. Others seem to be more external: get a new hobby, travel more, talk with my brother more… Culturally, many of us roll our eyes at these resolutions, either because we know they are too often unfulfilled or seem superficial. Yet, if you look at it, almost all resolutions center around one theme: quality of life. I deserve more.
It only seems fitting to mention another area that we all deserve: I deserve to feel safe. I deserve to know the answers to the things that run through my mind when I go out to my car alone at night. I deserve to know the responses to the questions that come up when I consider the nightly news. In fact, I deserve to have such thorough responses to these worries that they rarely cross my mind. I deserve to know what my life could become if I lived without fear. I deserve the improved relationships that come from being honest with myself and others about what I want.
It sounds thrilling and exciting and scary all at once for me to consider these things, even though all of this has already happened for me. I remember what it was like before my IMPACT class considering doing these things for myself. It can seem overwhelming. Even good things that will make us extraordinarily fulfilled can be overwhelming.
Many of our graduates actually report that after taking the Basics course, they find things they’ve wanted to change in their lives somehow happen and the obstacles melt away. Issues they’ve struggled with for years somehow hold less power over them now that they feel so powerful and have more tools. At IMPACT, we know that it’s possible for everyone to be this powerful even when they don’t know it for themselves.