Good gracious. 2011 is on its way out. And while I’m all about planning ahead for the next year (and have been grappling with potential goals for a good week now), I really, really, really want to focus on celebrating my successes from the past year. I need to take some time for this, because I made so much progress that I’m really proud of in the past twelve months. I’d love nothing more than to celebrate your progress, too.

Here’s what we do: I share what I want to recognize myself for. You share what you want to recognize yourself for. And then we all jump up and down/drink champagne/watch fireworks/throw confetti/give bear hugs. Whatever you prefer.

Let’s do it.

• I coached lots of incredible people and got to see them blossoming into even more brilliant versions of themselves. I got to witness them getting jobs, starting businesses, exceeding business projections, giving themselves time for their art after years of denying it, learning to let insecurities fade and truly connect with people, and experiencing honest communication with their partners. It all feels very happy-sigh worthy.
• In September, I took my first-ever business-driven trip to Portland. I got to participate in my first Rally, and I got to photograph Havi, Rhiannon, Jonathan, and Ev’Yan. This was all (very literally) a dream come true, and I still can’t believe my luck that the whole trip happened.
• I found a wonderful therapist and started going regularly. This has had the most wonderful deep-down effect on all the areas of my life, including my business.
• Thanks to my friend J, I found an awesome dentist and a very caring doctor (most of whose patients are queer). Thanks to my friend A, I found a wonderful gynecologist, who works largely with queer women. If you don’t know how hard it is to find queer-friendly/knowledgeable doctors, let me tell you: this is huge.
• Even though I’ve long been recovering from disordered eating and exercise, I had some remaining body thoughts and patterns that weren’t serving me. I’ve worked daily, all year, to investigate these patterns and learn more about them. The result has been a subtly happier, and healthier, me. Yay!
• I grew my relationships this year. I met new people, I went to parties even when I was scared, and I actively pursued friendships with amazing people. As a result, my circle of close friends is growing, and I find it much less intimidating to ask friends to spend time together. Also, I have almost no nervousness when I’m meeting new people and clients, since I’ve now met and made friends with so many fellow bloggers/Twitterers.
• I got to take some fun vacations this year. Mary and I took our first-ever vacation with friends (to Provincetown, MA), and we also got to spend a quiet weekend in rural New Jersey during the fall. I also got to see Adriana almost every other month, which was basically a dream come true.

I can’t think of anything else right now, so please tell me about everything you’re celebrating from the past twelve months. I would absolutely love to shriek with joy about everything that’s happened in your year.

Comments: Sharing our proudness is crazy difficult. That’s why it happens so rarely. Here’s how we do it: We share an accomplishment or an excitement. (We don’t have to get specific, or share any details we’re uncomfortable sharing.) This is also a very special space, because we don’t have to qualify our achievements. We don’t have to say why we’re excited about something (though we can if we want to). Also, you can let us know if you’d like us to keep our excitements about your achievements to ourselves. Otherwise, we’ll respond with nothing but positive showers of affection, so your achievements may continue to grow and flourish.