Experiments in Wellbeing – Appreciation

I’m writing this post on the morning of day two of the CIPD annual conference and exhibition. I’m here working with Meg Peppin providing opportunities for conference delegates to reflect and connect, experiment and enjoy good conversation. The experience is enjoyable, in part because I am being mindful of the need to appreciate the curiosity and investment in time people are making when being with us. In return, many people are being generous and honest with their support of the work we are cocreating. Thank you.

Appreciating the contribution you and others make, matters.

I sometimes struggle to see the good in what I do, particularly in the heat of the moment. Last night we finished a creative networking session called The Art of Conversation, and as people were leaving, lots of kindness was being exchanged. Paul Taylor gave me some lovely feedback about his experience and told me how well he felt the session went. How did I respond? I began to pick holes in the experience and list things that could have been better. Paul stopped me and gently suggested I might want to take his feedback and acknowledgement in the spirit it was intended. Paul did a lovely thing for me there and I shifted my thinking as a result.

Appreciating the contribution you and others make, matters.
Accepting the appreciation in the spirit it is intended matters too.

Thanks Paul.

Author: Doug Shaw

Artist and Consultant. Embracing uncertainty, sketching myself into existence. Helping people do things differently, through an artistic lens.

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