On Thursday April 20th, Carolyn shared with us her most recent presentation entitled “ Learning from my Mistakes “ 

Carolyn began by sharing some thoughts on making mistakes. We will learn from some of our decisions that turn out to be mistakes. That’s why it’s important to learn to make decisions without thinking twice. We should view each day as another opportunity for happiness. 

In our society today, we always seem to want instant gratification. However change takes time. Carolyn shared life really changed for her when she ended up in the hospital. She feels that the stigma that is directed towards those that experience mental health challenges put her into a different state of mind. At the time she felt very confused about what happened.  It was during this time that she was lucky enough to find a caring therapist. 

We all have dark times, however we will become more caring once we can make decisions. Sometimes it’s hard to trust ourselves, and you may feel in the future that you made a wrong decision. Maybe you are afraid of your un-managed mind?  When it comes to making decisions, you will know when it’s the right decision, when you feel great about it.  Maybe consider how do you connect with others? Maybe we can be that go to person if someone has a problem? 

Carolyn also talked a little bit about values. She began by sharing that we may need to rewire ourselves to find values that are clear and achievable. We may need to accomplish higher life values, to feel accomplished. 

Sometimes if we associate pain with some of our emotions, it can affect all of our decisions. It’s important to be aware of what emotions you are moving towards, and try and create a list of life priorities. 

She shared that some of the emotions we need to try and avoid are rejection, anger, frustration, and guilt. 

Carolyn shared one quote with us that I really loved.   

“ Try to happily achieve, than to be happy about achieving “ 

I like this. I take it as, maybe it’s more about the journey in life, rather than the destination? 

Carolyn also shared a handout with us, listing approximately 40 different values. She advised we should try and narrow down our list of values to about three or four. My top two values I chose were Spirituality and Peace. Carolyn suggested as things change in our life, we will have to revisit our list of values.

I really loved the values handout she gave us. I bet it made a lot of people really stop and think when they read that list.  I know it made a difference in my life.