I woke up this morning feeling grateful. Appreciative of everything and everyone I have in my life. Good things. Great things. Even challenging or "hard" things. Grateful for all of it. Little things, big things; a hot cup of coffee (good coffee, not crap), Ugg boots on a chilly Fall weather morning that's here in August (go figure, and grateful for the break from the heat), my messy office that's going to get cleaned today (ahem!), leadership (cuz it makes things happen - and gratefully so!), engaging relationships, family, friends, little sisters, clients, colleagues, my business, life lessons (which gratefully repeat themselves over and over again until we "get" the learning!), and the list goes on. Basically all of it.

I notice that even the things that cause me pause that I'm not totally excited about (or even dreading), like the fact that I have to pack up a whole office and then some this week (and if you don't know, I hate to pack!), get a nod of gratitude for what they represent (I'm going to have an even more fabulous space to engage with clients in!) My daughter laying next to me, with a fever, gets a nod of gratitude that I get to take care of her and give her extra love and attention today. As I experience this little exercise of gratitude and state shifting...I notice that my energy (my energetic vibration) gets "higher and higher" as I feel this gratitude - even for the things that I could easily go "low" about - and as I notice this, I feel grateful for gratitude.

I've long said that gratitude is an instant energy and mindset shifter. Feeling low? Get grateful. Feeling tired? Get grateful. Feeling tension or anger? Get grateful. Gratitude to me is right up there with love and you can't be in a state of love and fear or anger at the same time. Just doesn't work. So...feeling anger or fear or confusion and just feeling "too close" to the situation? Shift your state to one of gratitude or love and get some clear space to engage from. (You'll get better answers and results from there anyway - trust me. Plus your people will like you more and be more prone to give you their best thinking. Grin. Wink. True.)

Curiosity is another mindset and state shifter. Making assumptions? Get curious. Tension in a relationship? Get curious. Avoiding conflict? Get curious. Not getting the results you want (organizationally, on your team or in your life)? Get curious. Curiosity...Yet another way to engage people in a more productive, responsive, and creativity inspiring way - and yet one more thing to be grateful for!

Which as my musing mind goes...leads me to the question of "If I could only take 5 things with me into my relationships (all of them - biz and personal), what would I take with me?" For me these things - this morning at least - would be the gifts of gratitude, curiosity, believing, "make it real" thinking with action, and boots. Why boots? Because boots for me (tying into Bootism here - paper on the right side of this blog if you're interested), are all about coming to life congruently, daringly and awake - and bringing "12 hugs and cupcakes" with you everywhere you go. And I figure if I do that in my relationships - I'm better for them, they're better for me, and we're all happier campers achieving better results together!

So what would you bring? What 5 things are most important to you to bring to your relationships and leadership? Whatever it is for you personally, it all counts. And it counts to those who are in relationship with you. It counts because it impacts how YOU feel, how you show up and how you engage them, and that impacts the energy you create, how THEY feel, and the results you get. So let me know. I really want to know what it is for you. (And besides that, I'm grateful for your responses here and being in productive dialogue with me!)

Have a super weekend. May gratitude and curiosity float your boat and give you much to lean into this weekend! ac