Looking Back...

Last week I shared that I wanted to add to my year-end ritual beyond having a word of intention for the coming year. I think a great way to end the year is to look back over the year, list your accomplishments, and dig in with the review the year. How did your word of the year pan out for you? Were there other themes that showed up? 

My word for 2019 was "fearless." In February, I flew to California. I attended the IAEDP (International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals) Symposium. I flew by myself to get there. This is kind of a big deal for me. I had a bad flying experience back in 2005 and have struggled to overcome flying anxiety, and am doing much better. This was exemplified by this flight, AS WELL AS flying again by myself in April. I flew to Philadelphia to attend an advanced training in Comprehensive Resource Model (a modality that I love and use and seriously need to write a blog post on). Another exciting adventure I undertook was starting a PhD program. This has been such an excellent choice for me. Only one semester down, but it seems to have been such a mind-expanding choice for me. I knew that the process was going to be one of growth, but I didn't realize it would have the impact it did so quickly. 

Honestly, I had a mini existential crisis early on. But now I am excited and ready to see what comes next within this process. One thing I didn't realize was that I would have to do some public speaking throughout the PhD program. I know it makes sense. But good thing I didn't think that through, because this is a stretch for me. I have been involved in Toastmasters for the last couple of years to get over this fear of public speaking. While I have gotten better somewhat, there are still some hurdles here. I am gearing up to position myself for more public speaking in my future. Back in August, I had the opportunity to attend a presentation by Jessica Setnick. She is well-known in the eating disorder professional world and is now helping us becoming better public speakers.  

She truly inspired me to speak more and even helped me come up with my intro. It's so good, and I just have to share:

Information Junkie, Jamie English, drank the diet kool-aid so long she didn't realize it was making her miserable.  Now a licensed clinical social worker and Harry Potter nerd, she presents to people like her who know there has to be a better way.  Her authoritative presentations help your audience find and embrace their authentic self (even if they're a Slytherin like her) so they can ditch the diet culture for good.

A couple of weeks ago, I offered an idea about listing accomplishments. Another great idea is to look back on your year and see if there are themes or lessons for your year — journal a bit about it. Happy New Year! 2020, here we come!