IMPACT

To use grace, kindness and compassion towards everyone you meet no matter what the circumstance. To withhold judgment and if you are going to make an assumption…why not make it a generous one? Why not use your ability to impact another human being in a way that lifts their spirits, encourages them or simply leaves them feeling seen, heard, loved and valued?

Someone recently asked me, “what’s the first thing you notice when you look at someone?’ I used to think it was a smile, but I quickly realized that not everyone smiles all the time. So now I’d answer that by saying, anything I can compliment. From a pretty blouse, to a gorgeous smile, to a new haircut – I immediately look for that something I can admire and that’s the foot I lead with. I start the encounter with the same energy I’d like to flow through the entire experience.

On the flip side, we can IMPACT others in a way that helps to encourage their inner gremlin. Our lives are often so busy and there never seems to be enough time. Rushing, we may forget to smile at someone walking by whose having a bad day. Multi-tasking, we may be distracted when someone’s trying to engage us. We may be having a hard day ourselves and snap at someone when we don’t mean to. Or maybe we’re going so fast that we forget to take a moment to appreciate someone who’s been kind to us. It’s all IMPACTFUL.

I’d like to leave you with one final thought. In the wake of our nations transition in Presidency, there has been quite a bit of talk about whether or not he is the man best suited for the job. It makes perfect sense that we each have our own opinions. After all, we come from our very own land of whoville where the thoughts and feelings we have as individuals toward his competency are in direct correlation to our many experiences in life up to this point. And those thoughts and feelings may or may not align with that of our Presidents. One of the many privileges we get to experience as Americans is the freedom of expression. Everyone is so passionate in their expressions that some forget about being kind when you don’t agree, compassionate when you don’t understand another’s view point, and graceful when your values and beliefs don’t align with someone else’s. It will require you to abandon the “what’s right vs. what’s wrong” mindset. It will require you to be INTENTIONALLY IMPACTFUL. Challenge yourself to dig deep, get curious, ask questions, learn a new perspective and perhaps see things through a different lens. And, if after you’ve done all that you still don’t agree, challenge yourself to do so gracefully. Keep in mind that we are all IMPACTING one another.

AND p.s.: Be Bold - Be Audacious - Be You!!!