Yesterday I was asked to speak spontaneously to the RedBallooners at our company wide meeting. As I stood in front of what appeared like a massive group of people…. I felt a wave of deep gratitude. Not just for those who were present – but all the past team members too. I thanked all of the past employees too – for their contribution – not only the amazing one’s, but also those who had been challenging and perhaps troublesome. Because if it had all been smooth sailing perhaps we would not have made such a deep leadership commitment to the employee experience and recognition.
I know personally that when I focus on feelings of gratitude and appreciation, I simply am incapable of feeling angry or sad at the same time. Choosing to pause and focus on what we appreciate and feel gratitude for has even proven to be effective at tackling depression, its incredible – but simple.
How often do you pause and reflect on your achievements? In our hectic lifestyles we strive towards the achievement of the next goal. Taking time to savor our achievements is not an indulgence, it’s fundamental in our quest for happiness.
I cannot believe that I have now worked towards the RedBalloon purpose for thirteen years.
As I reflect I do wonder and dream about taking this deep commitment to workplace behavioral cultural alignment work to the broader business community. We call this RED (Recognise Every Day). I don’t in anyway wish to simplify the programs that we design for organisations, in fact the work that we have done with many businesses will attest to our programs ability to influence culture.
The Power of Appreciation in workplaces is transformational as part of this work. It’s is worth having a look at this video – no business leader knows all that there is to know about what is going on in their team…but it does not have to be like this.
When our achievements directly reflect our values and passions, it can be easy to overlook them as they feel so logical and right. Take some time to acknowledge your achievements of late, personal or work related, it may feel a struggle at first but I challenge you to list 5! Give yourself permission to feel good.
Nick Fergus says
Great blog Naomi I agree, appreciation and gratitude are key to growth and moving forward. We can’t move forward until we fully appreciate what we already have and how we got there.