November is the month of giving thanks and, in this spirit, our team has been sharing things for which they’re thankful via a “Gratitude GIF Challenge.” Siendra came up with this fun activity in which each day she posts a new challenge in Teams, our internal messaging app, for team members to respond to with only a GIF. It’s turned out to be a great way for the team to bond in a creative and fun way.
For example, one of the challenges was to share a simple pleasure we’re grateful for. From this, we learned that Adam likes playing in the dirt:
Tyler enjoys ice cream:
And Chad loves to Prancercise® 🤣
This simple activity has not only brought the team closer together but also reminded us to be grateful for the little things in our lives that bring us joy.
"Never let the things you want make you forget the things you have."
— Sanchita Pandey
I love this quote. Remembering to stay grounded in and grateful for what we already have and not count on something we don’t have—but think we need—to make everything better is important in living a meaningful life.
I don’t know about you, but for me it’s easy to get caught up in what I think is missing and a feeling of almost constant dissatisfaction. Sometimes it’s a tangible thing, something I “need” to buy that will “complete me.” Other times it’s a solution to a problem or the attainment of a goal that’s the object of my desire. Sometimes it’s just some tiny sign of improvement. Whatever it is, the satisfaction of getting it is nearly always short-lived. I’ve found this to be true in both my personal and professional lives.
We talk a lot about continuous improvement at Far Reach. It’s one of our Core Values (#FRCV6 – Learn & Grow) and it’s built into the way we work. We’re always striving to create a better experience for our clients and our team members, constantly on the lookout for ways to be better stewards of our clients’ budgets and our team’s talent, to be more efficient and effective, and to bring more value and fulfillment.
We’re passionate about continuous improvement, but, in all honesty, it can be exhausting. After all, there’s always room for improvement, right? After a while it can feel like no matter how hard we try or how committed we are, we never quite get where we want to go and that can feel demoralizing.
We’ve found that one way to keep from being worn down by the pace of constant change is to take time on a regular basis to acknowledge what we already have and how far we’ve come, and, most importantly, to consciously be grateful for it. Reflecting on the fruits of our hard work and being truly thankful for what we’ve already attained helps us keep things in proper perspective and motivates us to carry on.
As important as it is, reflection and gratitude can easily be overlooked in the rush of our day-to-day lives, so it’s best to be deliberate about it, even if that means scheduling it in our calendars, putting it on our to-do lists, or having a Gratitude GIF Challenge every once in a while to bring it back to the forefront.
If you’re feeling dissatisfied and yearn for something that will make things better, try taking a few minutes to appreciate all that you already have. You might just find that it’s enough.
Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers. I’m grateful for you.