Hi Reader,
Wow, New Year’s Eve 2020.
It has been a year of highs and lows and, if I’m honest, I don’t know yet how I feel about the balance.
One part of me thinks, “How did that happen?” another part thinks, “Thank God it’s nearly over!”. This has been a year that none of us predicted 365 days ago.
My training business died completely when lockdown was announced in March, every gig was cancelled. With courage and creativity I managed to pivot online, persuade clients to give it a try and yes, delivered 8 month’s worth of training from my spare room – like, when will I next be expecting overnight visitors?!
I have lost friends and family this year, some to the virus, and said goodbye, inadequately, grieving from a distance.
I am physically and emotionally drained by 8 months of 24/7 caring with no respite, no holiday… and I am proud that we delivered this, mostly with love, and our little family of three is largely healthy and happy.
I know many families have not been this fortunate. How has the year affected you? I hear your voices, I read your stories and still I know I, I hope we, can count our blessings.
Because gratitude is important.
Sometimes I want to kick back against gratitude – If I’m honest, there’s a whole lot of stuff that I am so not grateful for and I’d change in the blink of an eye if I could. But to focus on that is the source of great suffering. I need to see that stuff honestly, for what it is and learn to either, fight back strategically or to adjust and adapt. Some parts of this last year have been hard and cruel and I am so glad to have survived them…
So, back to gratitude, for therein lies power.
It is easy for gratitude to be a platitude. It is easy to think “Yes, I know, three things to be grateful for today, hmm, but first I need to…” and then we get on with our list of things to do today because we know we are grateful kinda people. But that is to underestimate, undervalue gratitude.
We need to practice gratitude, to invest energy in awareness so that gratitude can change our trajectory, like a lens will bend the rays of sunlight to a sharp and brilliant focus.
Being aware of the intention and the desire to create more gratitude for the things in your life is a powerful lens that changes your focus.
Do it on purpose, do it with purpose.
Choose to create a life that will fill you with gratitude.
At this level, feeling gratitude also overlaps with that process of creating meaning I mentioned in my last newsletter. It reminds me of the process of “thinking and thanking” that is part of my One-of-many coaching toolkit – we bring awareness, we give thanks, we invite more…
So, with gratitude and purpose, what do I want more of in 2021?
- I want to face whatever comes with courage, resilience and with joy.
- I want to love and provide for my family.
- I want to create and be creative and to grow through doing new things.
At a professional level I want my business to support women who:
- are ready to stop hiding and to be themselves,
- want to contribute fully and confidently
- are committed to advancing their careers and living a meaningful life.
I remember the meme that circulated widely earlier this year, “In a world where you can choose to be anything, be kind.”
So what do you want from 2021?
What will you bring into focus so that you can bring it into being?
Do let me know. I’d love to hear about your plans, your hopes and dreams.
Wishing you health and happiness, peace and purpose…
Let’s face it together!
Margaret