Dr Jodie Fleming - The Psychology of It
Clinical & Health Psychologist - Positive Psychology Practitioner - Certified Run Walk Talk Practitioner - Author - Retreat Leader -
Clinical & Health Psychologist - Positive Psychology Practitioner - Certified Run Walk Talk Practitioner - Author - Retreat Leader -
Ngatanwarr, welcome.
Gunditjmara means ‘belonging to person’ and for tens of thousands of years the Gunditmara people have been living together as community, as family, sharing their practices through language, through stories, dance and song, and caring for country.
I wish to acknowledge the Gunditjmara people as the traditional owners of the land where I live and work to care for my community, my family, sharing my knowledge and stories, while caring for country.
I pay my respects to their elders, past and present.
‘What I came to learn was that I needed to stop asking myself what I wanted to do with my life and instead begin asking how I wanted to feel.’
Diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 36, I was forced to start looking at the way I’d been living my life. The consummate ‘goal-setter’, I’d slowly come to realise that each achievement was met with only a short-lived sense of satisfaction that led to a cycle of needing to do more and more and more.
What I ultimately came to learn was that I needed to stop asking myself what I wanted to do with my life, and instead, begin asking how I wanted to feel. The answers?
I choose to feel connected, purposeful, flourishing and serene.
From that turning point, I chose to change many things, including the way I was working. For too long, psychology has focussed on deficits and problems to ‘fix’ and I was ready for a change. Instead of working solely with individuals as a clinical & health psychologist, I decided to shift focus and work from a strengths-based wellbeing focus instead. Now I’m able to share easy-to-learn, simple-to-implement strategies from positive psychology with individuals, groups and communities alike in a role that truly feels like a calling, not just a career.
And the most fulfilling change of all came from the choice to lead wellness retreats and enter the world of workplace wellbeing. What helps me to flourish is connecting to others, human-to-human, sharing my experiences and practices, from gratitude to grit, mindset to mindfulness, kindness to compassion, so that others can choose to flourish too.