Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

– George Bernard Shaw

I had a client say to me once: “I want to be the architect of my own life.”

I love the idea of that. The idea that we are responsible for who we are and who we are becoming. Personal development is the act of creating who we are. It’s our own ongoing education.

“A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time.”

– Mark Twain

Personal growth involves taking a long hard look at who we are and how we became who we are. In counseling we look at past decisions, patterns, failures and successes. It’s important to get an accurate view of the person you are, then make decisions on what works and what can be improved.

I work with my psychotherapy clients to live more consciously, to face the ugly parts of their lives with courage, and to solve the deep problems that prove to be reoccurring themes. We then decide what adjustments need to be made. We work to remove or reduce what no longer is effective and replace it with new processes and perspectives.

My clients learn that if you continue to live life like you have always lived it, you will continue to get what you have always gotten. Life is too short to keep making the same mistakes over and over. At the very least — make new mistakes! Then learn from them and go on.

I work with my clients to:

• Overcome past failures
• Examine their decision making skills
• Cultivate the courage to change
• Achieve balance in all areas of their lives
• Develop positive momentum
• And ultimately become the architects of their own lives.

“If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.”

– Thomas Edison