Episode 40: Ending Well & Starting New with Debbie Laaser

This is the final episode for this season! Endings can bring up mixed emotions: sadness, excitement, grief, anticipation, and gratefulness to name a few. Some endings happen intentionally and some are without choice. Whether that’s leaving a job, ending a relationship, selling a home, or even moving, we can end well by intentionally thinking how we would like to exit. Ending well makes room for new beginnings.

In episode 40, we speak with Debbie Laaser on ending well and starting new beginnings. She shares how to recognize when it may be time to end a season, the emotions that may arise, and how to do it with intentionality. This emptying out process creates room for what’s next in our lives. When we feel stuck in our current circumstances, Debbie explains that sometimes it’s about making the next right choice, rather than figuring out the entire plan. It is through listening to ourselves that we can know when to move on and how to discover what will truly give us a sense of joy and fulfillment.

If you are trying to figure out how to end well or what may be next, this is a great episode for you! Thanks for joining us this season on But Really, How Are You?

Key Takeaways

• Debbie’s thoughts about the topic -- Ending well
• Some beliefs that come along with ending things or being at the stand-still for her
• What she thinks people feel when they are on a stand-still or stuck
• On knowing when to change thoughts and beliefs vs. changing what is happening in life
• Beliefs that influence decisions in life for her
• On the importance of paying attention to emotions and their message
• Debbie’s story on moving on and finding joy
• The list that Debbie recommends to aid in finding joy
• Her thoughts on how to end things well
• Knowing when to end a relationship and how to end it in a healthy way for her
• On sadness as a healthy part of ending things
• The benefit of ending things well for her in the long run
• Her view on the next small steps to pay attention to ending things well
• A conversation on finding the next right house and denying self of joy
• Lessons she learned from the book Big Magic
• Her belief that helped her find joy
• CorryAnn’s final thanks to close season 1

Link

• Debbie Laaser on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/debra-laaser-5b640514/

Book

• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24453082-big-magic

Bio:

Debbie Laaser, M.A., LMFT is a licensed marriage and family therapist and was involved in recovery with her husband, Mark, for over thirty years. After Mark’s passing in 2019, she became the Director of Faithful & True. Debbie has facilitated therapy groups and counseled relationally betrayed wives for over 20 years. She is the author of Shattered Vows and co-author with Mark of Seven Desires and A Toolkit for Growth: Practical Recovery Tools for Individuals and Couples. Debbie’s recent research project, “Posttraumatic Growth in Relationally Betrayed Women” was published in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.