First Birthday

March 26 is the first anniversary of Just Noticeable Differences. I was shocked to see that the year went so fast. Now that I'm approaching 60, time just flies by.

It has been an interesting year. Blogging has been more difficult than I thought. I had forgotten (or repressed) the experience of writer's block from when I was writing my dissertation. Fortunately, unlike my dissertation, I can get up and leave the computer until my brain reconnects.

Blogging has been very rewarding; it's helped me met some interesting people. The attention I've gotten from readers has been gratifying and a bit surprising. One reason I had named myself Free Operant was because I wasn't sure I was going to get any readers. As a result, I thought, most of what I was writing would be free operants. I'm happy to find out that some people have indeed been reading what I write. Thank you all.

One interesting thing I've found in this year. Blogging anonymously has its own set of limitations, some positive and some negative. On the positive side, I realized it isn't fair for me to attack people from behind a shield of anonymity. I've tried to eliminate snarkiness when responding to people who write under their own name. I may disagree with them, but I should do it respectfully. Their reputation is out there and mine isn't. I think that limitation has made me a better writer. It's easier to be snarky than to be respectful and still disagree.

On the negative side, I also decided that I would create a wall between my real person and Free Operant. Free Operant will never comment on what I do under my real name, and I will never comment on Free Operant under my real name. This is proving frustrating because I am working on another project under my real name that I can't reference.

Finally, even with my anonymity, I would love to discuss events that have happened in therapy, but I can't. A recent article addressed that particular pitfall for medical doctors who blog. I think confidentiality is too critical to come even close to breaching it. Before I ever wrote my first post, I decided to put up a "fence around the law," to use a Talmudic phrase, and never write about anything that ever happened in therapy. There was one point where I was going to post a comment on another blog about an event occurring 30 years ago in therapy. I didn't. It killed me because it was hysterically funny, but I didn't post it.

Overall, it's been a good year. I look forward to many more.