I hope you had a restful and thankful weekend.
It’s appropriate and somewhat easy to be thankful on Thanksgiving. You are surrounded by family and friends. You are off from work, and for some reason the days around Thanksgiving everyone at work seems to be aware of the holiday first.
The sense of urgency seems to ease up. I even had one of my colleagues send an email on Friday saying “please do not read until Monday”.
I do love the days around Thanksgiving… and the holiday itself.
But, here is my challenge. Carry the gratitude forward. I challenge you as I challenge myself. Monday the world starts to spin again.
- I need to finish getting the Christmas decorations up at home.
- I need to get the decorations up at work.
- I need to finish budgeting for the year.
- I need to finish our strategic plan for next year.
- We need to keep the recruiting efforts going.
- We need to get the holiday parties done for the company.
- I need to be present for the family and friends…
The list is long and includes all kinds of things that are less fun, like finishing the eviction of the tenant in our apartment and resolving my parents insurance…
So, as the world starts to spin again, I take a deep breath, and I remind myself that Thanksgiving doesn’t come and go the third Thursday of November.
Thanksgiving is the right way to approach everyday.
We can shift out of the “holiday” mindset and into the SPRINT till the end of the year.
Or, we can remain grateful and mindful as we carry out our lives and our responsibilities in the glow of of the magical Christmas season.
Just like Thanksgiving is not about the turkey, Christmas is not about the gifts. While I am not very religious, I love the spirituality of the celebration.
Life is full of challenges. Everyday our work requires that we face and resolve issues. That is life. That is work.
As I step into Monday and the beginning of December, I will reject the stress and any anxiety that comes with the ticking clock signaling the end of the year.
I will embrace the fact that it has been a really good year.
I will make my list of what matters and what the most impactful to do’s are, and I will check it twice.
I will include items of importance both for work and for home.
And, I will show up everyday thankful for the life that I have… and for the “problems” that I get to resolve that come mainly from success and growth and high expectations.
Every day the wave of noise and to dos will come straight at us… And, like anyone who has spent time in the ocean knows… I will run at them with a smile on my face.
I will dive right through them and let them wash over me, so that I can stand firmly on the other side, gaze into the horizon and focus on the things that matter.
I know the waves will keep coming, and some may knock me off my feet…
But, I am fortunate to be where I am, doing what I am doing, and I am the one that gets to set the tone and lead us with graciousness and focus to the end of this year…
And, I am the one that gets to lead us beyond the waves so that we may paint a new sunrise onto the horizon.
Thankgiving for me won’t occur in a single day…
For me, Thanksgiving is a wonderful reminder and the beginning of a season of celebration, of reflection, of rethinking, and reprioritizing.
Don’t stand strong for the waves – dive right through them…
The waves of the countless “to dos” grow this time of year.
Look past the waves…
Keep your eyes on the horizon…
And, be thankful for every brand new day of celebration.
Let’s let Thanksgiving set the tone for the holiday season…
Let gratitude flow as we finish 2015 strong and prepare for a joyous celebration.
Don’t let the waves of December knock you down.
Yours in harmony,
Nesto