The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes. – Marcel Proust
Have you ever felt “at anchor in the harbor,” floating in a particular place, prevented from moving anywhere by the proverbial boat anchor and obstacles surrounding you? Patients and clients living with diabetes that we’ve worked with over the years have frequently shared that managing diabetes leaves them weighted down by the challenges they face moment to moment, hour to hour, day to day. These challenges in turn may lead to feeling stagnant, immovable, with no obvious way to move forward. With that said, the harbor photo taken this week during a pause in the Thanksgiving holiday travels, brought us @AFreshPOVforYou to take a moment and reflect on the above words of Marcel Proust, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes.”
What if rather than focusing on the obstacles and what’s immediately around you, instead you look up. You look about. You see with new eyes. You see the bigger picture (and maybe even a stunning sunset!). When we @AFreshPOVforYou incorporate solution focused brief therapy into life with diabetes, we guide clients to focus on the “desired future,” rather than on past or current problems. We help people take small steps to move in the direction of that desired future – much like pulling up the anchor and setting sail to see what might be possible with new eyes. As Ann Bodmer Lutz, the author of Learning Solution-Focused Therapy notes, “Solutions for patients are not scientific puzzles to be solved by practitioners, but rather changes in perceptions.”
Think about a time when you’ve had success and recall:
- What was different then?
- How did you feel?
- What were you doing or seeing in yourself?
- What were your perceptions of things then?
- How can you change your perception today so you can move forward again?
Stay tuned to future blog posts as we share stories of success.
Wherever holiday travels take you, we encourage you to take a pause and look around you with new eyes. Then acknowledge and be thankful for any fresh views, beautiful views, or uplifting moments. We call this “imprinting.” We’ll share more about imprinting in our next blog post.
Those of us @AFreshPOVforYou wish you and your family a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving!