How are you keeping? I hope you’re fit and well – many of my colleagues have told me in the last few weeks that they’ve been affected by Covid and other winter bugs so I do hope you’ve been – and remain – infection-free.
Me, fit? Yes. Fatigued? Certainly. It’s been a busy last few weeks and I’ve been trying to fit it all in, training workshops, Christmas preparations and, the biggest one of all, the Awards Day for the CABS-Cardiff charity.
CABS(Community Adult Basic Skills)-Cardiff provides basic skills classes for adults with learning disabilities, learners who, throughout their lives have probably received far more negative feedback than positive, experienced failure far more frequently than success.
We were awarded a grant by the Virgin, Heart of the Community fund to hold an Awards Day at the start of lockdown – it was postponed for obvious reasons and it was only this month that we had the resources to hold the event safely.
A day when gifts were given and achievements were recognised. There was party food, individually plated and served to your seat.
There were Certificates!
Each learner was individually recognised for the skills that they had, each one different.
One at a time they were called to the front to be celebrated and recognised by their peers.
Yes, you have done this!
This lesson is so important. The previous educational experience of many of the CABS-Cardiff learners has often left them feeling written off, overlooked, failing. Rarely does someone make the time to point out what they can do, what they have done and how they have improved.
And this is a life lesson we all need every now and then.
It is so easy to see the things we are not doing perfectly. We are often quick to judge ourselves – we didn’t get that done, we should’ve done this, and we can probably list the projects we have that are underperforming or behind schedule.
Many of us are more reluctant to see and celebrate what we have done. Mostly we’re “keeping it together” at a time when we feel exhausted. Even close to overwhelm we are still showing up, doing stuff and making a difference.
As we hurtle towards the Christmas holiday I imagine you will finish your most important tasks, emails will be sent, services will be delivered. Houses will be decorated, trees will appear and Christmas lunch will be served.
Particularly when there’s such pressure to do so much I’m a great believer in doing less and doing it with more thought.
Maya Angelou nailed it when she said:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”.
Take a moment to be present – with yourself, with the people who matter to you.
Remind yourself: “You have done this!” and then give yourself permission to rest.
Until next week!
Margaret
PS: If you are feeling over-stretched or even overwhelmed, do have a look at some of the simple ways to bounce back. I have a number of free, Resources for Resilience here:
And if getting it all done is your particular challenge, there’s my Out of Overwhelm Route Map:
I’ll be opening up some coaching slots in the new year so, if you’re thinking about making 2022 count in a new way, showing up, being present, doing even better, do let me know and we can schedule a call to see if coaching is right for you!