A brief hiatus

I have been taking a break from posting on my blog site - my last post was on Father's Day on June 21st.  For the past few years (actually, since August, 2016), I have been more or less posting about twice a week.  I have tried to post something on every Sunday and Wednesday.  Some weeks, I have posted more than twice, while other weeks I have only posted once. 

I have always enjoyed writing.  As my career has evolved over the last several years, I have found fewer opportunities to write, and this leadership blog has filled some of that void for me.  I have truly enjoyed it.  While I do not journal, my blog post has at least provided me a moment to reflect, learn, and grow.  I have shared my thoughts and lessons that I have learned with others, which I sincerely hope has been worthwhile.

There were a number of reasons why I chose to take a break.  For one, it just seemed like the right time to do so.  We have all experienced a lot of changes over the course of the past few months.  Change can be exhausting.  And when you are pushing your limits, some times it is best to take a break.

I also recently learned an important lesson - perhaps one that I should have already known.  I used to give a lecture every year to our residents and fellows entitled, "Professionalism in the Age of Social Media."  I used to tell our residents and fellows to always keep your professional social media lives separate from your personal ones (for example, try having two Facebook accounts, one for your professional, job-related social media activities and one for your personal ones).  I have always used both my Twitter and LinkedIn accounts to post updates to my blog.  While my Twitter account has no specific mention of where I am working, my LinkedIn account certainly does.  Recently, someone pointed out to me that some of my blog posts have represented my personal opinions and may not accurately reflect the opinons of my employer.  While I am confident that I have never posted anything controversial or counter to the opinions of most of the individuals who I am fortunate to work with on a daily basis, I also recognize that in these times, it is difficult to remain entirely apolitical.

So, I will follow my own advice, and in the future, I will no longer post updates to my blog using my LinkedIn account.  Let me assure you that I did not get into trouble with anyone at work.  However, it is clear to me that, at least when it comes to social media, I have not been following my own advice.  So, for all of my previous posts and for all the ones that I will post in the future (and yes, I will start posting again soon), let me state once and for all that the opinions and views expressed in all of my posts, past, present, and future, are my own opinions and views and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any organization or institution that I have been affiliated with in the past, present, or future.  They are my own  They belong to me.  And I am proud of them.