Welcome to My Blog
This blog is a collection of thoughts and reflections around my own personal development; my learning and definitely my unlearning. Doing this feels a little like opening up my journal for all to read, i.e., it makes me uncomfortable. But, one of the things I have been working on this year is getting more comfortable being vulnerable and sharing my stories. Also, we are in COVID times and I think that being vulnerable and sharing stories right now is especially important. In doing this, I hope that you will also feel okay to start or continue sharing your own stories (in whatever form makes sense for you).
Thanks for reading!
Single-mindedness
There are certain activities that I can be very single-minded about. Word games are probably the best example. I, like many others, am committed to a daily Wordle puzzle. I am also committed to a daily NYT crossword puzzle and the NYT Spelling
Laughter Really is the Best Medicine
Doctor to my friend, Tara: “Oh wow, I love your hair.” Doctor to me: “Oh, and you have cancer.” That's how I have chosen to remember my breast cancer diagnosis conversation. Of course, that’s not exactly how it happened but it’s close. I
Movement: My Word for 2022
For the past 3 years, I have chosen one word to guide, inspire, and remind me of how I want to move through the upcoming year. Shout out to my friend Tara’s sister, Ramona, who introduced me to this practice. I was skeptical
Reflections on My 2021 Words: Reflect & Celebrate
For the past 3 years, I have chosen one word to guide, inspire, and remind me of how I want to move through the year. For 2021, I couldn’t narrow it down to one word, so I chose two -- reflect and celebrate.
No More “Guilty” Pleasures
One of the toughest personal shifts I have been working through since becoming self-employed has been figuring out how to spend my time. Having more freedom and flexibility with my time doesn’t automatically mean that I know what to do with it. Or
Fresh Start Moments
I love the fresh start feeling that comes with the fall. For me, the fall (and especially September), has always represented the signal of something new -- something to look forward to. This year, my plan was to work hard until the end
Writing Break
It’s been a minute since my last published blog post (May 26, 2021 to be exact). From December 2020 to May 2021, I was on a pretty good clip when it came to my writing. It helped that there was a lot that
My Learning Habits
One of the best parts of being self-employed is having the space to think about how I work, how I want to work, who I want to be at work, and how I want to professionally learn and grow. Lately, I have been
Who’s the Boss?
Many of us have heard the phrase, ‘employees don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.’ Research supports this. Stories from friends and former colleagues support this. And, my own career experience supports this. Lately though, I have been wondering if this sentiment is
My Journey to Self-Employment
Why is it often easier to see the potential and possibility in others than it is to see it in yourself? A friend recently told me that she knew (4 years ago!) that I would one day start my own business. Well, that
Identity
Identity. Such a huge topic, and one that I have been giving a lot of thought to lately. What components make up my identity? Are they all equally important? Who decides how I should identify? How do I navigate changes to my identity?
Do You See Me?
What if we all made more of an effort to help each other feel seen, heard, and understood? That was a question posed at the start of my coaching program a few years ago. It was (and still is) a great question and
Curating My Headspace
Two things that I know to be true. One, I have a lot of thoughts (let’s call it chatter) in my head. And two, I have a finite amount of headspace. The stream of thoughts coming in often overwhelms me. If I could
Reflections on Writing
It’s neat to think about the learning that comes from the activities we do. Lately, I’ve been reflecting on what I am learning and how I am growing from writing, and especially from writing these blog posts. Intentionally shifting from writing to record
The Big Five-OH!
For the past several months, I have been saying aloud and writing about my upcoming 50th birthday. It’s a touch out of character as I generally don’t like to draw attention to my birthday. Not so, this year. I’m basically announcing it to
Saying YES to Starting a Podcast
Have you ever said YES to something that you hadn’t fully thought through but your intuition and gut was telling you to do? Has saying YES ever turned into something unexpectedly special for you? That’s what happened to me when I said YES
I Don’t Understand…
Do you have any autopilot words or phrases? Like when someone asks you how work is going and your go-to response is to tell them that you’re so busy. Or when you meet someone new and your default intro question is to ask
4 Years Ago, I Had Breast Cancer
4 years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I accidentally and fortuitously found a lump on my right breast on December 12, 2016. After 5 weeks of appointments, screenings, and what felt like a lot of waiting, my diagnosis was confirmed on
Reflect AND Celebrate: My Words for 2021
For the past 2 years, I have chosen one word to guide, inspire, and remind me of how I want to move through the upcoming year. In my last post, I reflected on my 2020 word, create. For 2021, I couldn’t narrow it
Reflections on My 2020 Word: CREATE
At the start of 2020, my pals (and co-hosts) from our podcast, Don't Be a Jerk at Work, each identified a word to guide, inspire, and remind us of how we wanted to move through the year. This was a practice that Tara
Time For a Paws: Lessons From My Dog, Odi
With Christmas and the end of the year right around the corner, I, like many others, am taking a moment (a pause, if you will) to reflect on this year, 2020. For most of this year, I have had the good fortune to
How COVID Influenced My Reading Habits
I love to read; so much so that for the past few years, I have joined the Goodreads Reading Challenge. This year, I set my reading target to 30 books. I started the year strong. By mid-March, I had read 16 books! Then COVID hit
Operation Dishcloth
I am a noticer. Noticer. Is that even a word? It should be a word. Maybe it will be a word someday. Let me rephrase...I am someone who notices things. I love to observe and to see the patterns that show up in ideas, people,