2023 highlights
As 2023 draws to a close, I can’t help but look back on all of its highs and lows. Here are a few things I’m particularly thankful for in 2023.
Becoming friends with generative AI. When Chat GPT emerged in late 2022, I scratched my head and wondered. A year later, I’m digging it, and it’s clearly transforming the world. My recent article, Drowning in admin tasks? Me too. Here’s what I’m trying to do about it, references one of my many AI explorations. My two favorite sources of inspiration are the Hard Fork podcast, which keeps me up to speed with AI and other tech on a weekly basis, and somehow also makes me laugh. I’m totally inspired by my friend Jenny Dyson’s incredible AI images on Instagram (@Pencilporcelain), which demonstrate what you can do with a mix of smarts, talent, time, and tech. I can’t get enough of what she’s doing.
Working with grief, loss, and trauma. Just about everyone experiences grief, loss, and trauma– no surprises there. But too often we don’t communicate about these experiences, to everyone’s detriment. I completed some intensive grief, loss, and trauma support training and got certified at the start of 2023, which has been super useful in my executive coaching and everyday life. Two great books I loved and recommend about trauma: “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma” and “What Happened to You: Conversations on trauma, resilience, and healing.”
Listening to Ezra Klein try to unpack the Middle East. New York Times journalist Ezra Klein aired an exceptional series of recent podcasts which examine the Israel/Palestine conflict from multiple angles. Klein and his expert guests walk through the histories of Israel and Palestine, attempts at resolution, what’s going on now, and what the future might hold. These episodes don’t simplify or dumb down the complexities of the Israel/Hamas War and how we got here. You can listen to the Ezra Klein Show wherever you get your podcasts, or find it here.
Appreciating simple, good times. Last year I started a practice of jotting down each week’s “wins” next to my monthly goals and plans. Revisiting this list periodically takes me back to all the happy and somewhat mundane moments that might easily be forgotten: a nice chat with my daughter, taking tennis lessons with new friends, watching “The Bear” with old friends, a book club meeting… you get the point. Occasionally something really big happens– but mostly, these “wins” highlight that the best things in life are normal, smaller-scale, caring human interactions. I hope I get to have a lot more of them in 2024.
