How to set smart goals according to East Atlanta's licensed therapist, Deana Panza
Photo credit: Deana Panza
Meet Deana Panza. Holistic therapist, speaker, wellness coach, and educator who helps people reconnect with their most authentic selves through mindfulness, self-awareness, and exploration. For nearly a decade, she’s been collaborating with people to empower them to take back control of their lives by helping them get to know their true selves and encouraging them with the power of choice. We caught up with Deana to discuss how we can set smart goals in the new year.
How long have you been in Atlanta and how did you get started as a licensed therapist?
I've been in Atlanta for right around 8 years now, which is wild to think about. I moved here saying I wasn't staying longer than 4. But anyways, I grew up in New Jersey but I moved here from New York City where I was doing marketing and public relations in the fashion industry. I left because I wasn't feeling a true sense of fulfillment, and was starting to feel a little claustrophobic in New York. Having gone to school in South Carolina, I had been to Atlanta a few times and I always loved how it felt like a good mix of city life and space. After moving, I bounced around in the job market, then finally realized that what I loved about marketing was understanding why people were drawn to certain things and understanding the mindset behind our decisions. So, I went back to college while I continued to teach yoga, got my masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and here we are.
How would you define a smart goal?
A smart goal is something that is attainable. It's a goal that is realistic and acknowledges where we are starting from. A smart goal acknowledges our humanness and understands that we can't just implement a huge change into our lives and expect it to stick right away just as we had hoped for.
How can we set goals in the New Year and keep them?
Make them small. It's one of the biggest key factors. People don't just say they want to start meditating for 30 minutes or taking a long walk every day and wake up the next morning and boom, make it happen. That's just not reality. Where is this time magically coming from? Or, if they do wake up and implement these changes right away, it doesn't stick. Something comes up and it easily fades away. So, start small. Do you want to start meditating? Cool, start with 1 minute a day until that becomes so easy for you that you can bump it up to 2 and so on until you find your sweet spot for time. Do you want to start reading more? Read 1 page a day until that becomes ingrained in your day then bump it up. Nothing ever stuck in our life by crowbarring it into our days. Starting small is huge.
Another tip that I love for New Year's goals requires us to understand that a year is a long time. And, who we are and what we want will change a lot in that time. So, it can be helpful to set goals around how we want to feel, grander things like I want to find peace, stillness, movement, happiness, be more mindful, or whatever else. This way, how you work toward that goal, the smaller goals that we set for ourselves throughout the year, have the ability to change while we continue to keep working toward that big goal. Maybe you want to be more mindful or present and in the first half of the year that means meditation but in the second half that stops feeling so good for you and it looks like sensory mindfulness exercises or breathwork. Maybe you want to move your body more and for a few months that looks like dancing in your kitchen but sometimes it looks like a yoga class and sometimes a walk. We've got to provide space in our goals for us to evolve and change and grow from the person that we were that set those goals.
What is your favorite part of EAV?
Lately, one of my favorite spots has been the Southern Feed Store. I think the village really needed a social spot like that and it's a great addition.
Where can people learn more about you and your services?
You can find me at deanapanza.com, @deanapanza on Instagram and TikTok, or email me at deana@deanapanza.com. People can always reach out about possibly starting sessions and I have an Infertility Support Group starting at the end of January. Later in the year, I'm planning to start a podcast and start releasing some short mental health courses.
Win an amazing daily planner to keep track of your goals and stay organized in 2023!
Ready to crush the New Year and stick to your goals? Here’s your chance to win a powerful yet simple daily planner to help you optimize your day, crush goals, and be happier.
1️⃣ Head to our recent Instagram post (@rootsatlanta) highlighting Deana Panza, East Atlanta's licensed therapist
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One lucky person will be chosen at random – best of luck!
ATLANTA NAMED TOP REAL ESTATE MARKET TO WATCH IN 2023
According to Lawrence Yun, chief economist and senior vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), forecasts show that 4.78 million existing homes will be sold, prices will remain stable, and Atlanta will be the top real estate market to watch in 2023 and beyond. "The demand for housing continues to outpace supply," Yun said. "The economic conditions in place in the top 10 U.S. markets, all of which are located in the South, provide the support for home prices to climb by at least 5% in 2023."
NAR selected Atlanta as the top real estate market city to watch based on how it compares to the national average for the following economic indicators:
Better housing affordability
Greater numbers of renters who can afford to buy a median-priced home
Stronger job growth
Faster growth of information industry jobs
Higher shares of the information industry in the respective local GDPs
Migration gains
Shares of workers teleworking
Faster population growth
Faster growth of active housing inventory
Smaller housing shortages.
Bottom Line: It’s still a great time to buy and invest in Atlanta. If you or someone you know is looking to buy property here, please reach out. We’d love to help!
404.267.1995
Love it or hate it, Starbucks is coming
Photo Credit: City of Atlanta
The rumors have been confirmed. Starbucks is coming to 450 Moreland Avenue where the former Long John Silver’s restaurant sat empty. The plans detail the new 1,300-square-foot space will have curbside pickup and a walk-up window, which is different from the traditional shop designs around Atlanta.
“The building will be positioned so that it is visible from the street and invites customers to walk through the various paths provided surrounded by new landscaping,” says the application. “The building form is simple with an overhead canopy structure. The proposed plan is composed of a large back-of-house area with a smaller front-of-house where orders are taken and made for customers. Public lavatories are provided on-site as well.”
People are speculating the new location could be utilizing the "pickup" concept which focuses primarily on people using the Starbucks app to order ahead and pay. If so, this would be the first of its kind in Georgia. With this concept, Starbucks is moving away from being a place for people to gather and work and moving closer to being like the other fast-food restaurants along Moreland. This looks to be a strategic move for Starbucks looking to profit on the caffeine-deficient commuters heading to work.
Whether you're a Starbucks fan or you prefer a more local cup of joe, East Atlanta Village has plenty of options to help you get your caffeine fix.
Greg Mike, Atlanta artist, plans to convert church to gallery
Photo Credit: ABV Gallery + Agency
Greg Mike, Atlanta-based artist and founder of ABV Gallery + Agency, purchased a former church in East Atlanta Village on Metropolitan Avenue and has big plans for 2023. The artist is best known for his large-scale murals with bright, surrealist, pop art style and his iconic “LOUD” characters. His work has been featured all over the world and most often in our own backyard, with more than 80 completed murals in Atlanta.
The 8,500 square foot church in the Village will transform into "an event space for a vast array of experiences and exhibitions, featuring the work of local and international artists. Featured walls throughout the property will serve as blank canvases for rotating public artwork throughout the year".
“As an artist, when I walk into this space my imagination runs wild. It’s been a dream of mine to build a creative epicenter where wild ideas can become a reality. After 10+ years of dreaming, concepting, and planning, it’s finally happening and I can’t wait to share it with the art community in Atlanta,” said Greg Mike in a recent press release.
ABV Agency + Gallery is excited to expand its worldwide artist collective, which includes more than 500 artists, from its gallery in Old Fourth Ward to the new space six times larger in EAV. Kronberg Urbanists + Architects, Bayard Builders, City National Bank, and SSG Realty Partners are working together on the project and it's planned to be completed in 2023.
Until next time, thanks for reading!
