Moving On Towards A New Path

This past Sunday marked the end of my Presidency in a psychological organization I’ve belonged to for 18 years. I was on the Board of Directors for 16 of those years, culminating in holding the role of President.

It was an experience that changed me: I grew and matured; made friends (and lost a few friends); experienced new people and new places. I discovered what it’s truly like to lead, when there is nobody senior to me who can take the heat.

And now I’m moving on. Thankfully. Gratefully. With great relief and no regrets.

It isn’t always that way when we are finished with one phase of our lives, that we do so with this sense of completion. For me, my feeling complete stems from fulfilling what I intended for myself, apart from what I intended as President. That personal intention was to learn and grow, approaching every challenge as an opportunity for growth. I had many such opportunities. What I intended as President was limited by the needs and wants of others in the organizations, so there was only so much I had agency over. It took me a few months to learn to focus on what I had the power to do, then only focusing on that.

It helped, eventually leading to a realization that it was time to move on to a new phase.

Sunday I’ll say goodbye to this organization. There are still a few things left, but really, it’s goodbye. With thanks, gratitude, and relief.

Quote of the week

Moving on is easy. It's staying moved on that's trickier.

• Katerina Stoykova Klemer

A 3-step guide to believing in yourself

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Maryanne Nicholls is a Registered Psychotherapist.  To find out more, gain access to her weekly newsletter, meditations and programmes, sign up at www.thejoyofliving.co .