A thought exercise: Then, now, next

It’s Lee again! I grew up in a house that only practiced gratitude on birthdays or health scares. Does that resonate with you, too??

For some reason on birthdays, my pretty tightly wound-up, immigrant parents would look at me as I blew out my candles and tell me to wish for health and happiness because we have everything else we need. A sweet thought, but then throughout the year, the feeling was more focused on the frustration of everything going wrong around us.

Growing into my adulthood, I realized gratitude was a practice that was missing in my life, and by the time I was in my 30s I realized I needed to actively work it into my life to really feel it. (Easier said than done).

Besides the gathering of family and great food, this time of year really makes me think about gratitude and how it’s shaped over the past year. And of course, since this is more of a work-focused blog… how has gratitude changed in my context of work? Let’s think about it.

A thought exercise: Then, Now, Next.

One tool I like doing is sitting down and writing (or at least thinking) a then vs. now exercise.?

Then: I once lived a life of a busy, workaholic (60-80 hours) weeks who believed she had no other purpose in life other than building Confetti. Then I used to focus on only the things I have not accomplished yet, and not the ones I have. Then I used to take every poorly executed event and listen to the scary, yelly customer and internalize it. Then I used to compare myself to other founders.

Now: I’m living with more purpose, creativity, and self-education. I strategize more and think more about the solutions and less about the problems. Now I’m not just Lee Rubin, Founder and CEO of Confetti, but I am a loved fiance, aspiring artist, and forever-learning leader. Now I work 50-60 hour work weeks, with sprints if truly needed. I eat nutritious, healthy meals and work out ~3-4 times a week. I am proud of my accomplishments inside work and outside of work.

Things are by no means perfect, but I’ve accepted more that this is a lifelong learning and development. To help me improve more for next year, I write down the things I want to progress forward to next.?

Next: Right now, I’m working on perfecting my healthy habits. I am working towards incorporating meditation, writing, and even more art into my daily life. I am striving towards working out 4-5 times a week, even if some days are just swapped with more walking. I am attempting to incorporate gratitude into my daily practice. I’m decreasing screen time significantly and I’m increasing inspiring, real connections.?

Giving gratitude to your past, present, and future self is crucial to your professional growth and development. So how do you extend this gratitude practice towards your work and colleagues? More on that next time…

Talk Again Soon

That’s all for this Culture Corner edition! ?? I’ll be back next time to dive more into how we can incorporate gratitude in the workplace. Tell me! What are you giving gratitude to this month? Do you have any other thoughts stirred up by today’s Culture Corner? Reply here — let’s keep the convo going!?

P.S. Join me at "Succeed Amidst Holiday Party Procrastination" on Thursday, December 14th at 2:30 PM EST to chat about expert planning tips for the holidays and why January is a top contender. ?? Register today!?

With love,?

Lee Rubin (she/her)?

CEO & Founder of Confetti

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