Let's Celebrate Our Wins! A Have A Seat Minicast

Hello Again Friends! Just checking in. How are you this week? Can you believe we're in November already? It's like October came, well, okay, let's just be fair, September hit first, put the pedal to the metal and took off heading straight for December 31. It's crazy how it feels like time flies so quickly this time of year! 

As we enter into this time of the year, seeing the end of the calendar come at us in full force, I think for many of us, no matter our background, getting towards the end of another year, can bring about times of reflection and pause amongst all the holiday dashing around. I guess what's top of mind right now, is a hope for us to find the time, if even for a few minutes, to turn around, look back at the past 11 months and celebrate our wins! 

I recently posted on LinkedIn, if you're connected with me, you might have seen my post, which talked about breaking the habit of talking about our problems and instead, begin recognizing and celebrating our wins, accomplishments and joys. This is something that I'm guilty of too. I'm absolutely raising my hand here and admit that sometimes it's too easy to focus on the negative and to engage in negative narratives rather than uplifting ones. I fully acknowledge that it can be harder to flip the script and focus on what we may be really proud of at the moment or to share a kudo or a positive tale. I know for women sometimes we may feel a little push and pull with this because it's almost like a humble brag kind of situation and for many of us, we don't always feel comfortable wearing that coat. But maybe we need to start. 

One easy way I plan to do that is to answer the question “So what have you been up to lately?” a bit differently. I recently fell into this trap with a friend. A former guest and amazing human Aimee Brown, asked me, “So what's been going on with you lately?” Great opportunity to shine a light here right? Wrong! My answer? “Oh, you know, the usual. Nothing major.” Missed opportunity - 1; Debra - 0. Afterwards I went back inside, and it kind of hit me. I thought, well, gosh, there's actually quite a lot of good things going on in my life right now. However, I didn't even go there, sadly, that wasn't my knee jerk reaction. I should have shared all the good stuff happening right now, like this show, and how much I am loving my podcast, and enjoying seeing the growth and the connections that I've been making and being able to share that with all of you. It is life changing with a glass half full energy vibe. Now why the heck did I not share that? That is huge, right? But again, my knee jerk was to fall back on my general boring answer. Why?? 

So I made a small promise to myself, that the next time that question comes up in any conversation I’m engaged in, I will stop, take a beat and flip through my internal file folder and share some recent joys or wins. Not only will that aid in reminding me what an adorable badass I am, but it may also prompt my conversation partner to share their joys too and who wouldn’t want to be engaged in a conversation like that?  

My wish for you as you enter into the hustle and bustle of the end of year and holiday season is this... if you find yourself in those inevitable, “so what have you been up to lately?” chats, that you’ll wait just a beat and sprinkle more of our joyful and proud moments into your answer.

2021 is coming to a close friends and we’ve made it this far! You are strong and I believe you’ve got this. Side note: it's okay to have weak moments too. I absolutely believe in those weak moments because it's all about balance and accepting that we’re all a work in progress. However, try to remember as you're celebrating others and their wonderful accomplishments and celebrations, to turn it around on yourself and remind yourself of all that you have done and accomplished too, because you rock friend. You really do.  

Until next week, stay safe, be well and remember to keep having those conversations. Thanks for listening!