Photo by Joe deSousa on Unsplash
Can you relate to this scenario?
You wake up feeling fine, and within a short time, you receive an email or phone call that completely takes you down a rabbit hole, feels like a sucker punch, and immediately lowers your energy level.
In other words, external forces can unexpectedly sabotage your plans to enjoy a productive day at work or home.
Under typical circumstances, how can you keep your energy level up to make it through your day and not let unwelcomed and disagreeable influences change your energetic state and sabotage your time and efforts?
Here is a simple and powerful daily practice and tool that I teach my clients and apply in my business and personal life.
When you wake up, focus on three things you're grateful for.
If you want to pile on more than three, that's even better.
When you anchor on appreciating what is going well at this moment, regardless of anything else that's not going well personally or professionally, it immediately shifts you into a more positive zone and state of mind. You become response-able vs. reacting and potentially regretting your behavior later.
Proactively self-managing your inner state is one pathway to experiencing more peace while taking care of your work and personal responsibilities and making progress on your goals. This approach enables you to influence the outcomes you're looking for, rather than tarnish your personal brand--what people say about you when you leave the room.
You can use the appreciation tool anytime during your day, especially in the scenarios described above when facing challenging situations, a team conflict, a disgruntled employee or customer, and even a difficult manager, colleague, or partner that day.
Ultimately, you'll feel more grounded and make yourself happier as you choose what to say and do and behave in alignment with your highest Self and the outcomes you desire.
This tool helps you balance out the negative energy that has suddenly come into your life or lingering in the background. When you use it, the reward is that you can transform a potential disaster into a non-event.
Walk the Talk
The following anecdote is my "go-to" example about self-managing your state to prevent an external event from derailing you and those surrounding you by association.
In 2019, I was on my way to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, to celebrate my 50th birthday with 22 family members and friends. We arrived at the airport around 5:30 AM.
As I was scanning the passports, I was shocked to learn that my son's passport had expired a couple of months prior. In a haze, I immediately realized that without a valid passport, my son could not leave the country. I felt a tingling and energy surge starting at my feet and making its way all up my entire body and up to my head. For a quick instant, all my plans to celebrate with loved ones crumbled in front of me.
In that moment of shock, I stopped and focused on what was still "good." We were healthy. Nothing was broken, my son was fine, I was fine, we had options. I gave my older niece all the resort reservation paperwork to ensure everyone proceeded as planned. We would figure this out and meet them in Punta Cana later that day or the next day. Everyone else was concerned, and my thoughts turned to "Everything is going to work out." And so they continued with boarding their scheduled flight while my son and I stayed behind to figure out our next steps.
After considering renewing his password through expedited 1-day processing in New York City or Philly, my son, who was 12 and would miss his league's world series baseball games to be with us, volunteered to stay behind. He was calm and resolved to join in his games instead. I called his father, who picked him up at the airport.
While we waited for his father to arrive, I rescheduled my flight to Punta Cana, leaving later the same day. By 4 PM, I was at the resort, joining the rest of the group to celebrate my 50th!
Of course, I wished my son had been there. However, at that moment, at the airport, focusing on gratitude and what was going well gave me the resourcefulness to consider our options and find a feasible path forward.
What could have been a disaster turned out to be an incredible celebration of life, friendship, and family. And that experience stays fresh in my memory, and I intend that it serves you when you confront your moments of upheaval.
Call to Action
We are resilient and more resourceful than we give ourselves credit.
Becoming self-aware of our emotions and current state, shifting our focus to appreciation, and the best solution given the circumstances will prevent self-sabotage and unnecessary angst and discomfort.
When things unexpectedly go sideways, consider using this tool--think of three things that you're grateful for.
I hope these drops of golden nuggets from life serve you and provide the daily support you need to take your leadership to the next level and fulfill your full potential.
If you need support, please visit www.callwithginny.com to set up a complimentary strategy session and explore how our programs can help you and your leaders gain critical leadership skills to navigate our complex work environments and not only survive but thrive.
Live with purpose, live with joy!
Coach Ginny 💕
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Dr. Ginny A. Baro is an award-winning transformational speaker & leadership coach, career strategist, and #1 best-selling author of Healing Leadership and Fearless Women at Work. Ginny specializes in partnering with organizations and ERGs to develop leadership dream teams. And she supports individuals navigating a corporate hierarchy or transitioning into an entirely new phase of their career. She has successfully facilitated live and virtual leadership training and coaching programs for individuals and Fortune 500 companies with over 140,000 employees, and delivered keynotes impacting global audiences larger than 7,000. To learn more, visit ExecutiveBound.
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