At Thanksgiving, give thanks!
Here are a couple of straight-forward thoughts from me about how to have the thanks-giving be most meaningful and impactful.
First…
When thanking someone, say why. For example, I have a friend who is coaching girls’ basketball. She doesn’t have a daughter, and she’s a powerful female leader. I appreciate her taking the time and effort to coach these high school girls. I could certainly give thanks and say, “Thank you Beth, for coaching the girls’ basketball team.” I could leave it at that. And it’s a heart-felt and great message. Yet, it can be more powerful if I go on to say, “Thank you for being their coach because you are providing a powerful female role model for them, because you’re not going to ignore the signs that one of those girls needs some support, because your perfectly placed coaching comments will support those girls to get on or stay on a healthy trajectory.” Share the “why” or the “impact.”
Then…and perhaps more importantly…
Thank yourself. I know that it really shifts my energy when I get into acknowledging myself for my great traits and how I’m handling things. And as we know, women can think of ourselves last when it comes to expressing gratitude. Yet, it’s so powerful when we start with acknowledging ourselves.
I invite you to do that right now. What strengths do you possess? How have you showed up great? What have you taken care of super well? Don’t over complicate this. I’d even suggest just looking over today’s activities (no matter what time of day you read this!) What have you done today, for which you’d like to acknowledge yourself?
Here’s my go at it. Today, I’d like to acknowledge myself for:
- my patience this morning when someone (I won’t name names!) wasn’t getting dressed
- how I listened to a business partner this afternoon
- doing the run on the treadmill this morning, when I didn’t want to
- the powerful coach I was with a client today
- going to go pick up popsicles after I post this, so I’ll have them for my daughter’s birthday celebration at school
It’s your turn! What would you like to thank yourself for?
