Holiday Pep Talk 2018
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the US.
Years ago, I wrote an email
to my closest friends at Thanksgiving.
I didn't want to write an email that
said "be grateful, etc." just because you should.
Holidays can be complicated.
You see people you're related to but can't relate.
Obligations can become resentment.
Memories shared are remembered differently-
with heroes and villains
conveniently changing names
based on who is sharing the memory
That's before we even get to
talking about the outside world.
Ya know like um... The Yankees? lol
You too?
All the while time is fleeting.
Families don't stay families forever.
If you market something,
you're in the business of being right.
You may fight that one of course,
because you're in the business of being right. :)
That can be a problem
when you're with people
whose sole job isn't strongly
selling a product or service that requires
a strong point of view.
No one sends an email saying
"Hey - I'm selling something but don't get too excited.
It's just ok. Nothing too great. So if you feel like it,
you can buy it. Anyway, let's talk about that Yankee trade.”
When you speak,
you can overpower people
and not even know it.
So I'm here to offer a couple of things
to consider for your role in the holidays.
Marketing and life
are both about specific moments in time.
Moments that don't come back.
So really think through
how you want people to feel
after talking to you.
My holiday email below resonated with my friends.
They kept asking me to re-send it
so it's become a holiday tradition.
If you're seeing your family again
in the next month,
you might find this helpful.
There's a bonus for you at the end of it.
I am a marketer after all :)
With this letter, you are now a part of
my holiday tradition:)
______________________________________________
The holiday season is officially upon us.
You may have family and friends you're about to see.
I'd like to give you a gift.
There's always been 2 forms
of gratitude that I've seen most at Holidays..
the kind you show out of sentiment
because the day tells you
to act grateful such as Thanksgiving..
and the kind you show
because you mean it
and the holidays
are another chance to say it.
I write this the week of
Thanksgiving though it applies to every day.
If you're sitting at the Thanksgiving table
this week wherever that may be,
Ask yourself how many
Thanksgivings or upcoming holidays
you think you'll see each person in the room.
Who wasn't here
this holiday season
that could be
if you made peace with them?
Who won't ever be
at another holiday dinner
because they are no longer with us?
I bring this up because
we don't have
an unlimited amount
of days to tell people we love them.
It is entirely possible
that it could be
someone in the room's
last holiday season...including ours.
How do you want people to remember it?
If there's someone
you love but don't say it...
What makes you not tell them?
Maybe they don't get you or agree with you.
Maybe they don't appreciate you,
and "always" criticize you.
It's been said that
there are just as many people
who are going to therapists
for having known US
as we have to get over having known THEM.
There may be
people in our lives
who are anxious right now
thinking of seeing US this holiday season.
Because maybe WE
don't understand them,
don't appreciate them,
don't agree with them,
maybe WE criticize who THEY are.
..yes..US..
immaculate,
perfect, enlightened,
"I know this already" US.
They might be coming
to the holiday dinner
worried about
whether we'll acknowledge them..
love them for who they are...
just as worried as us.
In truth, there is no "them".
There is ONLY us.
ALL of us.
If there's someone
you don't want to see
this holiday and you're seeing them
because you "have to"..
make sure you sit next to them at dinner
and make them feel loved.
At least try.
One more person
to feel good about in your life..
How thankful would you be for that?
I hope that's a gift worth having.:)
__________________________________________
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough,
and more.
It turns denial into acceptance,
chaos to order,
confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast,
a house into a home,
a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past,
brings peace for today,
and creates a vision for tomorrow."
Melody Beattie
If you celebrate it,
Happy Thanksgiving!
Robert