It had been a long/short trip: long in the amount of time in a plane from Los Angeles to Tokyo to Manila; short in the amount of time on the ground. I arrived in Manila on Wednesday night and flew home Saturday. I came back utterly exhausted with chills and fever, wobbling when I walked.
And my heart never felt better.
Why?
The 800 attendees at the first International Coaching Federation of the Philippines were incredibly gracious, appreciative, warm, and so quick to tell me what resonated with them from my closing keynote address. The hugs, the handshakes, the smiles, and the follow-up emails were all I needed to bow my head and feel incredibly grateful.
Gratitude is a circle. More begets more. Gratitude is that energy-boost which beats caffeine. It is the fertilizer for resiliency.
It requires no skill, no finances, no degree, and no title. It only needs intent and a wee bit of time.
So simple. So powerful. And far too infrequent.
Imagine the employee engagement if managers took the time to express gratitude to employees and visa versa. Toronto Dominion Bank went to great lengths to express gratitude to their customers. They turned ATMs into automated thank-you machines. Watch this incredible video. I guarantee you’ll get an energy boost just observing personalized gratitude in action.
I am grateful for all of you who take the time to read this post and to let me know what it sparked in you. I am so thankful for friends like Jane, Jesse, Bev, Eunice, Vanna, Cindy, and so many more because I KNOW we have each other’s backs. Bonnie, my incredible operations manager, is the wind beneath my wings when I can’t rise any more.
I am beyond grateful for my precious Bill and 35 years of love and laughter with more to come. How could I not be grateful for my amazing sister Susan and brother John as we continue to hold hands through life and walk our respective roads. My three grown children and their spouses plus fabulous GRANDS just own my heart.
I am filled with gratitude for the finches at my bird feeder and the flowers in my yard, for the ocean in the distance and books at my right hand.
The list is endless.What is on yours?
Gratefully, Eileen