keeping a balance, marketing consultant, Passion, Uncategorized

Gifts and Gratitude – Part II

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Since many of my clients have currently gone into what I call “holiday hibernation” mode (really, it’s a combination of year-end and holiday demands, and I totally understand both of these), I have the wonderful “gift of time” — a phrase we used a lot at my last job — that allows me to write two consecutive posts.

While part I of this two-post series focused on gifts, this one focuses on gratitude. As the calendar year comes to a close, and a new year is just around the bend, I think it’s important for me, and for all of us, to look back at 2014, and find blessings wherever we can. I can easily identify mine.  One is  a positive resolution to a handful of health issues that continue to plague me from past cancer treatment. While, from a health perspective, 2014 was almost as equally challenging for me as 2013 (the year in which I endured two major emergency surgeries), I am ever so grateful to be closing the year feeling significantly better.

Other blessings include:  the continued love and support of a large and diverse group of friends and family members related to both my health and to launching my marketing consulting/agency business, the fact that most of my family members and friends continue to enjoy decent health, and the willingness for various friends, former colleagues, and connections to engage me and my firm, Results Communications, to oversee a variety of marketing and marketing research activities on their behalf.

I feel so fortunate on so many fronts.  As I shared recently with family members, and I want to share with you, “The Boston Globe” has recently published two great pieces that remind all of us of the importance of gratitude — that no matter how dire our circumstances seem, how we can all find and count blessings, if we choose to do so.  I hope you’ll enjoy the two pieces below.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2014/12/12/mother-glass-isn-half-full-overflowing/4Hoesz8hsYZ3qyMdDJ9wtO/story.html

https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2014/11/30/why-have-all-forgotten-say-thank-you/lm8SiwHcu1cX8T4uaKlflO/story.html

I’d love to hear what you are most grateful for this year.  I know I’m also grateful for all of my readers — a group that includes many family members, friends, clients and prospective clients.  I wish you peaceful, safe holidays filled with gratitude.

Enjoying What You Do, keeping a balance, marketing consultant, Passion, Uncategorized

Gifts and Gratitude – Part I

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As you might expect from any blogger, I feel compelled to share some thoughts from the heart and soul during this holiday season.  From my title, you’ll see it’s important to me to share my thoughts about both gifts and gratitude.  In fact, after another year of both great blessings on various fronts and more health trials and tribulations, there’s so much I’ve learned and want to share, this is going to be a two-parter.

Let’s start with gifts.  And, I’m not talking about the tangible ones you give friends and family, like baseball cards, the new Taylor Swift CD, or Godiva chocolates.  I’m talking about the two gifts that I think are the greatest gifts of all — love and good health.  I thought about it a bit, and while I think good health is one of the most important gifts that is both bestowed upon us — and that we can cause in ourselves and others through the right actions — I believe the most important gift is love.

You can live many years, even a lifetime, with certain types of poor health. It may not be easy, but it’s doable depending on the health challenge, but I don’t think any living creature can survive without love. I’ve always loved this line from “Nature Boy”, “the greatest gift you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return“.  Not just during the holiday season, but all year long, I hope you’ll remember, as I try my hardest to do, to share a smile and reach out to those who are most in need of it. It only takes a second of your time to speak to a stranger who appears down-on-their-luck or to reach out to a close or distant acquaintance who you know may be lonely and/or hurting in some way.

Now, on to good health.  Some of us, like me, were fortunate to be born with good health.  When I see children struggling with any kind of mental or physical health challenge, it breaks my heart that they have to be so courageous and fight so much at an early age. Also like me, some of us have known major health issues in adulthood, such as cancer, MS, diabetes, COPD, and heart disease.  While in certain cases, we can’t prevent the arrival of our illness, there are certain steps we can take to manage or minimize our symptoms or disease progression.  In addition, we can give the gift of good health to others by making sure we aren’t encouraging unhealthy behaviors through our actions.

I’ve shared information with family and friends about this great book I bought at the beginning of 2014.  Reading it was a wonderful way to start the year committed to taking actions that support good health. This book, https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Move-Sleep-Choices-Changes/dp/1939714001, by Tom Rath, was a good reminder that in addition to guarding your own health, you can help others guard theirs.  By taking the lead by ordering first at a restaurant and making healthy selections, or by refusing to bring unhealthy food into the office or to get-togethers with family and friends, you can be a help instead of a hindrance to supporting good health in your family and friends.

I hope during this holiday season you will be both the giver and recipient of both love and behaviors that encourage good health.