While I was strolling around Black Friday sales, I realized that just buying a gift wasn’t enough. I needed to SHOW my people how much I loved them and TELL them why. I think the holidays lead us into some transactional behavior, at least retailers desperately hope that will happen. As we fork over moolah in exchange for swag, we think that’s a pattern that works for relationships. I don’t think it’s that simple. I can’t just give someone a gift and expect them to understand the meaning behind it. Love is more nuanced than that.
Gifts are great, but they aren’t my love language. I’m a words person. I love receiving a handwritten note from my clients. In fact, I post them on the wall of my office to remind me why I keep opening my heart to help others see how amazing they are. The vulnerability in opening your heart has an emotional cost, but it’s worth it when I see my clients relax into a more hopeful frame of mind. I show them that they are important, and they tell me how I helped by sending me a text, card or email. That’s the kind of transactional thinking I can support. That exchange of love and support is the reason for the season. And you don’t need to go to a store to make it happen.
As you’re finishing up your lists and checking them twice, remember to add a little Show and Tell to your TODO’s. Watching your loved ones light up as you give them a reminder of how much they mean to you will spread holiday cheer better than buying buckets of stuff. If your love language is gifts, party on! Just remember to imbue that gift with a sweet sentiment of why their presence is a gift to you. Write a list of how you will show and tell this week, and send me a copy at terrif@findyourpride.org or write it on the Big Board at GPS!
XO
Terri
P.S. click here to see the theme in action! https://youtu.be/eVITgxlaWhk
