After the festive period, we start preparing for new beginnings and a new year. It is an opportunity to set new resolutions, and work on things that will bring us joy over the year to come.
This is our tree of life, it describes all of the important things that make someone happy:
The star stands for Status: Everyone needs to feel accepted and valued by others.
The home stands for Privacy: Everyone needs privacy, they deserve to have their own space, and be able to choose what they do with it.
The heart stands for Intimacy: Everyone needs an intimate connection to at least one other person, someone with whom they can be completely themselves who cares what happens to them.
The person standing inside of a ring stands for Autonomy: Everyone needs to be involved in decisions that affect them and to have as much control over their life as possible.
The arrow zigzagging up a chart stands for Achievement: Everyone needs self-esteem and to feel that they are achieving things.
The two arrows circling one and other stands for Attention: Everyone needs to receive attention and to be able to give attention to others.
The shield stands for Security: Everyone needs to feel safe and to live without undue fear.
The world stands for Meaning: Everyone needs to do things that are important to them and that have meaning for them.
Finally, at the centre of our tree is an image of a group of people, this stands for Community: Everyone needs to be part of a community and to access it when they feel it is appropriate.
These nine concepts make up the Human Givens: all need to be met in balance for a person to live in harmony, with a high level of well-being, and a positive standing to carve their path into the future.
Over this next year we will be supporting people to live how they want to, and rather than just caring for them, we will be there enabling them to achieve a higher level of well-being in harmony with their environment.