Happy Thanksgiving: Gratitude and Growth

I'm blessed with some wonderful friends, including Kathie Nelson, business coach and creator of Connectworks: Professional Development and Networking for Leaders (kathie@kathienelson.com). I wanted to share with you some of Kathie's thoughts about Thanksgiving--hope they are a blessing to you whatever your world involves.

"This is the time of year when the frenzy of the season sets in. Your plate is full and it is inevitable that a few more things get added. I'd like to challenge you to enjoy a different holiday experience in 2010. Rather than buy into the frenetic... what would it look like if you chose to be present and focused?

Here are some tips to a sane and productive year end.

• Take stock. Note the benchmarks, achievements, and people that have impacted you in a positive way in 2010. Write it down. Memorialize the people and events. Drop a note of appreciation to the people who've contributed to you. Create a visual remembrance of the benchmarks you've achieved. i.e. find a stone and write a word, get a motivational card and note the event to post on your wall. Have some fun with this attitude of gratitude.
• Be present. Choose to be engaged rather than buy into the busy-ness. Take this opportunity to manage your pace. If you typically find yourself taking on stress and performing rituals that have little meaning to you, give yourself permission to make a change. Your enjoyment factor will increase when you allow yourself to "show up" without distraction. The secret is that when you slow down to show up, others will too.

• Create an Outrageous year end experience. I invite you to reinvent your holiday experience this year. If you were to flash forward to January 2, 2011 and look back on the last 6 weeks of 2010 what would make this period memorable? Would you have hit your goals? Will you have made the most of time with friends and loved ones? Will you have celebrated your growth personally and professionally? This is your life. Choose to create an over the top growth experience. You have a gift to share with the world. "

LET ME ENCOURAGE YOU TO:
 TAKE A MOMENT AND RE-READ THESE HELPFUL TIPS.
MAKE A NOTE OF THEM.
PLAN HOW TO IMPLEMENT THEM SO YOU CAN ENJOY A SANE AND BLESSED HOLIDAY SEASON! 
 
With love from the One who deserves all our thanksgiving,
Poppy