by Cindy Sneed, Chief Clinical Officer of The Next Door
Depending on the day, if you look up “New Year’s resolution failure rate,” the number is as high as 80% by February 1st. Change is hard! It’s also uncomfortable, especially when staying with the status quo is so much easier.
But then there are times we want change. We need change. And it can come at the most random times. For some it’s on New Years’ Day. For others it’s on their birthday – their personal “new year,” or the middle of a Tuesday morning in the summer. Where does this desire come from? What is behind those sudden bursts of motivation?
Oftentimes, when we answer the call to change something in our lives it can be beneficial–but it’s the sticking with it that matters.
Every day at The Next Door we ask women to change – change their thinking, change old influences, change their motivation, and change their perspectives. But our clients–like all human beings–can be resistant to change.
“One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to give up, instead of what they have to gain.” –Rick Godwin
Regardless of what leads women to want to change by seeking help at The Next Door, women under our care are encouraged and empowered to make the necessary changes to move into a new phase of life– one that does not include drugs or alcohol or unhealthy relationships. Our integrated team of healthcare professionals work together to help clients focus on their present – to live one moment at a time. We also help women dream, imagine, and explore their future GAINS–rather than viewing things they are giving up and focusing only on their past. A common phrase used in 12-step meetings and in group therapy sessions at The Next Door is, “nothing changes if nothing changes.” Just like making a new year’s resolution to lose weight or stop smoking, it begins with making small changes we can commit to, that eventually lead to new, healthy habits.
The most rewarding part of my job at The Next Door is engaging with our clients and witnessing their growth and return to healthiness. I love watching them become more open to willingness and possibility and making commitments to changing unhealthy behaviors. Recently, one of our clients made this statement to me on her final day of completing our 30-day residential treatment program: “you’ll be seeing me again – not as a client, but as your co-worker. I want to work at The Next Door one day and help other women like you all have helped me.” Now that’s not just change – that’s transformation!
For any of you who support The Next Door with prayer, volunteer time, financial donations, thank you for helping us make CHANGE possible in the lives of the women in our community.
