Inclusion on the Slopes

From the desk of Dr. Gerilyn Davis: Happy Thursday! I hope you are feeling the thrill of the week. I find it thrilling to witness the value that inclusion provides. Yesterday evening, I had the pleasure of speaking on the SOS Outreach Career Development panel. This event reminded me that our stories are meant to be shared. --- IT’S NEVER TOO LATE: Reminding the youth that it’s never too late to pivot and make adjustments on our journey. It's what life is all about. --- START w/CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE: Reiterating the value of starting where we are can give us access to uncovering our purpose at any moment. --- REVISIT THRIVING: When we pay attention to what puts us in thriving mode, we can build momentum for more opportunities. Connecting with the youth and fellow board members (Travis Tafoya and Andrew Ching) while listening to the youth’s sustainability presentation was so much fun! Considering that the youth have our future solutions, investing in them will make us sustainable. It's a win/win every time. Enjoy the day! #joyofinclusion #inclusionexpansion #inclusionincludesyoutoo #SOSOutreach #InclusionontheSlopes #boardengagement?

From the desk of Dr. Gerilyn Davis: Happy Wednesday! I hope you are feeling equipped to navigate the week. By utilizing strength-based inclusion, we can feel better equipped to navigate character-building moments. --- RELENTLESS APPLICATION: We recognize that there is always a learning curve when learning something new. We honor the uncomfortable to comfortable trajectory. --- ENHANCED RELATIONSHIPS: Our ability to develop better relationships happens because we put the effort into witnessing its growth. --- BUFFERED EXPANSION: When we attempt to grow,?our relationships serve as a buffer for the moments we may question ourselves. When we focus on the fact that we all have strengths, we can open the door to exploring our uniqueness. Solutions unfold because of this exploration. That’s why inclusion will forever be a priority. Embrace the day! #joyofinclusion #inclusionexpansion #inclusionincludesyoutoo #InclusionontheSlopes #SWORDInclusionSystem #PhaseThreeOpportunityPlanning #inclusivehappiness

From the desk of Dr. Gerilyn Davis: Happy Tuesday! I hope that your week is progressing nicely. When change occurs around us, we can reflect on a time when we adapted. We did it before; we can do it again. In Phase Two: Why of the SWORD Inclusion System, we understand why change happens as we are willing to witness how we have changed over the years. --- RELATIVE PERSPECTIVE: We understand that everyone has unique experiences. What works for one person may not work for another. --- PEOPLE DO CHANGE: When we recognize the power of social conditioning, we acknowledge that people can be re-conditioned to be inclusive. --- NAVIGATING OUR REACTIONS: We cannot control how someone else behaves. However, we do have control over how we react. I continuously reiterate to clients that inclusion is a journey. It does not happen overnight. It is a muscle that we exercise. As a result, what I have found is that people do change. Enjoy the day! #joyofinclusion #inclusionincludesyoutoo #inclusionexpansion #InclusionontheSlopes #SWORDInclusionSystem #PhaseTwoWhy #inclusivechanges

From the desk of Dr. Gerilyn Davis: Happy Friday!! I hope you are ending the week feeling authentic. When we honor the fullness of who we are, we honor our humanity. During Phase Five: Daily Assessment, as we consider Harvard's longest adult development study conducted, we assess the value various relationships provide. --- UNHAPPINESS MOVEMENT: The human experience consists of up and down, happy and sad, and the in-between. When focusing on inclusion, we frame moving past the uncomfortable as a part of life. --- APPLICABLE KNOWLEDGE: We create a win/win by always learning and making the knowledge we gain from inclusion applicable. --- SOCIAL FITNESS: Developing relationships and engaging in inclusive behaviors is a means of social fitness. We keep at it. With inclusive efforts, we take the good with the bad. The experience does not mean it was not worthwhile; it just means that we are living an inclusive life versus doing inclusive work! Enjoy the weekend! #joyofinclusion #inclusionexpansion #inclusionincludesyoutoo #InclusionontheSlopes #SWORDInclusionSystem #PhaseFiveDailyAssessment #inclusivehappiness

From the desk of Dr. Gerilyn Davis: Happy Thursday! I hope you are feeling vibrant as we end the week. When partaking in inclusive efforts, we notice how we feel and witness what makes us feel alive. In Phase Four: Review Weekly, we are willing to reflect and detach from beliefs that may no longer serve us. We replenish ourselves to ensure we don’t dim our light or anyone else’s. --- TAKE INITIATIVE: We reflect intentionally to witness our growth and development; thus, we take action and reflect on the action to deepen our connection within us. --- SUPPORT INITIATIVE: We allow ourselves to receive support from those who can provide it. --- TEMPORARY STATE: By iterating the temporary state of anything we are experiencing, we gain control by giving it to ourselves. When it comes to happiness or fulfillment, the most important relationship we can have is the relationship with ourselves. Then, all other relationships begin to fall into place.?We seek out inclusion because we included ourselves first. Enjoy the day! #joyofinclusion #inclusionexpansion #inclusionincludesyoutoo #InclusionontheSlopes #SWORDInclusionSystem #PhaseFourReviewWeekly #inclusivehappiness

From the desk of Dr. Gerilyn Davis: Happy Tuesday! I hope you are feeling empowered and supported. When we feel empowered to take the initiative to be more inclusive, we open the door to additional support. In Phase Two: Why, we recognize that we cannot do it alone. In Harvard’s longest adult development study, one of the key findings I discovered was that relationships protect our health. --- POWER IN RELATIONSHIPS: Relationships are valuable to us because they help us navigate stressful situations when they arise. --- VULNERABILITY IN CONFLICT: Relationships can assist in navigating conflict when we are willing to recognize that the conflict exists because of some level of vulnerability. --- INCLUDE OURSELVES: Inclusion involves considering our perspectives and what we value. We honor our lived experience to be able to honor others. Inclusion is a buffer when stressful moments occur. It is not if we experience turbulence; it is when! I cherish inclusion for this exact reason. Enjoy the week! #joyofinclusion #inclusionexpansion #inclusionincludesyoutoo #InclusionontheSlopes #SWORDInclusionSystem #PhaseTwoWhy #inclusivehappiness

From the desk of Dr. Gerilyn Davis: Happy Friday! As always, I wish you a relaxing end to the week. While we are ending the month, we can always reconcile our expectations to begin again. In Phase Five: Daily Assessment of the SWORD Inclusion system, when addressing current events; we align our expectations with where we want to be rather than where we are. --- QUALITY & QUANTITY: With an inclusion focus, we can experience both quality and quantity when we tap into our capabilities. --- RECONCILE EXPECTATIONS: There are expectations that only we can fulfill. We focus on empowering ourselves and reconciling expectations. --- REPLACEMENT HEALS: Part of the inclusion journey is healing some of our preconceptions. We begin to replace behaviors that may restrict our ability to connect with others. It is never too late to be more inclusive. In addition, we are willing to make mistakes to begin again. It’s what makes the journey so inspiring. Enjoy the weekend! #joyofinclusion #inclusionexpansion #inclusionincludesyoutoo #InclusionontheSlopes #SWORDInclusionSystem #PhaseFiveDailyAssessment #inclusivefocus

From the desk of Dr. Gerilyn Davis: Happy Tuesday! I hope you are feeling the shift in the seasons. Spring is starting to peak its head here in Colorado. It is a healthy reminder that trouble doesn’t always last. In Phase Two: Why of the SWORD Inclusion System for navigating current events, we honor our internal support system. --- ACKNOWLEDGE NEGATIVITY BIAS: We are aware of our negativity bias, so we don’t let it get the best of us. --- STEP AWAY: I tell my clients, that we can’t give what we don’t have. Thus, we are willing to step away from some of the negativity that may not be serving us. --- SUPPORT FELLOW HUMANS: We support our fellow humans who may be having a tough time during this transition. It takes 5 positives to equate to the stimulation of 1 negative, we can flood ourselves with countless positives to stay on our path. Enjoy the week! #joyofinclusion #inclusionexpansion #inclusionsincludesyoutoo #InclusionontheSlopes #SWORDInclusionSystem #PhaseTwoWhy #inclusivefocus

From the desk of Dr. Gerilyn Davis: Happy Monday! I hope you are feeling equipped for the week. When we iterate equipping ourselves for the inclusive journey, we feel empowered even in our current landscape. In Phase One: Strengths to navigate current events, we remember that we are more equipped than we give ourselves credit for. --- BYPASS ALONE ILLUSION: Our internal narrative can set a trajectory for how we engage with others, which could appear as though we are alone. There is always someone who cares. --- LIVED EXPERIENCE ALIGNMENT: When we are willing to honor our unique experiences, we can honor someone else’s. ?--- DOUBLE DOWN: When we are experiencing turbulence, which we will, we use our strengths more. Fostering inclusion begins by first fostering inclusion within ourselves. We can only give what we have. We connect to self; we can connect to others. Enjoy the journey! #joyofinclusion #inclusionincludesyoutoo #inclusionexpansion #IncusionontheSlopes #SWORDInclusionSystem #PhaseOneStrengths #inclusivefocus2

From the desk of Dr. Gerilyn Davis: Happy Friday! I hope you are feeling relieved about the end of the week. We can feel relief when we are willing to leverage past success for future success. In Phase Five: Daily Assessment of the SWORD Inclusion System, when facing current events, we leverage all our tools to stay in harmony with our internal resilience. --- BALANCED RESILIENCE: We are resilient. We minimize overloading our resilience, resulting in burnout, by increasing what makes us resilient; we have done it before. --- EMBRACING SENSITIVITY: For those who are highly sensitive and may be reacting to events, to sense is our strength. --- ALL TOGETHER: We are in this together, however it appears; humanity makes it so.? As we head into the last weekend of February, we can have reverence for our past successes as a means to build on. We always start from somewhere. I say let's keep going! Enjoy the weekend! #joyofinclusion #inclusionincludesyoutoo #inclusionexpansion #InclusionontheSlopes #SWORDInclusionSystem #PhaseFiveDailyAssessment #inclusivefocus