Practicing Gratitude Exercises Your Resiliency Muscle
As November is often thought of as the month of gratitude, and as I reflect on the past year and what I have learned, here are a few things I am grateful for:
1. New Speaking Skills. Virtual events appear to be the way of the future for many speakers, even though we may see hybrid events cropping up as we slowly bring back in-person gatherings later in 2021. Getting comfortable looking at the webcam in lieu of making eye contact certainly required practice. Incorporating more interactivity and utilizing digital tools to make presentations more interactive required a steep climb up that learning curve once again. In the long run it was worth it for the audiences that I served, in order to better connect with them in our new speaking landscape.
2. Stronger Relationships. Even though I’ve missed the opportunities to meet face-to-face with my audiences, I made the commitment to connect with those who have reached out and were willing to invest the time in having a deeper conversation. This has allowed for stronger bonds to occur, and I think the investment in deepening these relationships and networks will outweigh any superficial relationships in the long run.
3. Creative Problem-Solving. There is no doubt that working from home has caused disruptions in how we run our daily lives: finding a new work area where presentations can be delivered without the background noise of other people; a pet that wants to be taken outside in the middle of a meeting; a doorbell ringing that can’t be answered because you can’t leave an important conversation. The ability to create successful “yes, and” collaborative conversations with family members has saved me on an occasion or two.
4.Practicing Self-Care. With essentially no travel in my schedule, I have been able to be more intentional with self-care. My schedule is more consistent, we are eating healthier because we eat out less often, better sleep habits are becoming the norm, and it is easier to fit in exercise even though I’m not exercising at the gym.
Despite the apparent downside this year of the pandemic has brought us, developing an attitude of gratitude builds that resiliency muscle, boosts creativity, can better our health, and deepen our connections. What are you grateful for as we enter this holiday season?