Time for a rewrite!! You've put another year to bed and now you get to decide if you like the program you've been living or if the next episode needs some tweaking or perhaps a major overhaul. You can make subtle or significant changes to the show. You can write an entirely different script or you can simply change the dialogue. You could add more interesting or supportive characters, and drop the characters that don't help drive the storyline. You can add more action or more contemplation. You have ultimate control over how your story unfolds.

What changes do you want in your story? A new business. Less eating. Gentler words. Reconnection with old friends or making new ones. Meditating. More physical activity. Stopping self-medication. Building a garden or a boat. There are so many ways to fill your story with your personal values or your own goals. What are yours?

The first task in a rewrite is to decide what you want to change that will promote the story you want told. Of course, the follow through gets tough when the weeks begin to roll into old patterns, so vigilance is paramount.

Here are some very clever ways to make those changes, then keep them in place after making them.

If you are one of my clients, you know I encourage everyone to listen to your body for signs of emotional distress. Neglecting our physical health can cause emotional and cognitive trouble. Sleep is one of the four areas for healthful living that I repeatedly emphasize. It turns out that no matter how much an overachiever you may be, or how much stress you can handle, the lack of heavy, regular doses of sleep will create more trouble than you can cope with happily or effectively.

Whether you have been given a diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or some other serious-sounding disorder, or you just have the "blues," or "jitters," there are some essential ways you can take matters into your own hands.

A diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder or an Anxiety Disorder still has the power to create shame. In spite of all we know (and don't know) about the neurological and environmental causes of both, we still believe that others, that amorphous mass of judges determining our worth, will look down on us.  There continues to be a stigma attached to mental illness.

Your therapist has told you that you have a "mood disorder" called bipolar. It sounds so serious and frankly, you don't think you have a problem at all, except that you don't like feeling depressed. Other people have a problem with how much fun you have.