Reasons to (not) be cheerful:

• it’s the middle of winter here in New Zealand (and apparently everyone in the Northern hemisphere is having a great summer)
• it’s the start of the two-week school holidays (so the little darlings are home all day – hurrah!)
• it’s been raining for years (or feels like it)
• I’ve come to the end of a big project (but will clients ever contact me again?)

And then yesterday, while I am focussed on this gloom, a colleague spontaneously writes me the most lovely, encouraging and frankly beautiful review on LinkedIn. It’s like a ray of sunshine. Instantly, the weather, the noise and mess around the house and the lack of new projects aren’t nearly as important as I thought they were.

I’m so grateful that my colleague took the time to share her kind words. She reminded me of the impact we can have on one another when we recognise and appreciate each other’s efforts.

Net result: in my professional life, I know that I have frequently learnt from the ideas and experience of my colleagues and I am going to pay more attention to saying thank you and sharing positive feedback. When someone expresses gratitude towards us, it’s uplifting, and I’m sure we could all benefit from more of that.