A few things that helped me grow this year ...

Hi, everyone. It's been a while. I switched my work email over to the same platform from which I send this newsletter, accidentally logged into this account, and voila! I figured I might as well send out a brief note.

Over the past few weeks on social media, I've been sharing a few things that helped me grow this year. In 2022, I learned a lot through enjoyable methods, whether that's an engaging conversation with a friend or reading a book I liked.

However, I also experienced growth through some not-so-fun methods. I figured I'd share them here and hope that they can help you as well.

A non-inclusive list of things that helped me grow this year, none of which felt "fun" or enjoyable:

• I set boundaries at work. I stopped being “always on” and always available every second after hours. I put my phone on do not disturb when I could. If I could answer tomorrow, I sometimes answered tomorrow. I started scheduling more messages on Slack.

• I let myself be sad and sat with my feelings instead of trying to run away as quickly as possible. I am the type of person to be like "aha, this sucks" and then keep going. I realized I wasn't going to grow if I didn't start processing things. It is so hard.

• I went to therapy regularly. I am very lucky to be able to afford it. I hate talking to people about my feelings. It is very unnatural. I don't look forward to it. It is helping.

• I actively reminded myself that my journey is not the same as others’ paths. I have mixed feelings about where I am now. But I am not comparing my every day to someone's highlight reel.

• I had uncomfortable conversations about money. I fought for bigger salaries for myself and my employees. I advocated my worth in multiple areas of life.

This was not my favorite year, to be honest. I feel like I have a lot of areas of growth I seek next year, but I will always be proud of what I accomplished above.

Have the happiest and healthiest New Year, and hopefully, we'll see each other more in 2023. :)