Beth Ridley - The Power of Small

Not that you’ve asked for anything personal from me, but I thought I’d share how I’m feeling and where I am right now.  I’m having this strange dichotomy between times when I’m feeling very productive and want to tackle everything on my to-do list and times when I just want to curl up and read a book and ignore the world.  I’m finding that I rapidly vacillate between those two states, and I’m trying to be compassionate with myself when I just don’t want to do anything (instead of giving myself the typical self-guilt-trip).

     As usual, I blame this on COVID (and hope it’s temporary).

One of the productive and enjoyable things I’ve been doing lately is listening to podcasts from people I’d admire.  During one of these, (To a Billion with Joy by Alison Cardy, which I’ve shared previously in another post), I heard an interview with an amazing consultant who focuses on positive and productive corporate cultures.  Her name is Beth Ridley, and she has her own blog and podcasts that you can find at https://www.thebrimfullife.com/

My key takeaway from the brief time I heard her speak was the idea of “micro-moments”.  These are seemingly small occurrences that might be overlooked. In the workplace, these could be things like someone bringing you a coffee or a snack when you haven’t been able to get away from your desk or someone pitching in on a project that’s not theirs because they see you’re struggling (or you just need more hours in a day).  They can be a well-timed smile, a joke to ease tension, or a quick thank-you scrawled on a Post-It note.  In our personal lives, micro-moments are all the little things that add up to big positive feelings, like a hug from our teenager, a knowing-look from our partner, or a phone call from a friend for no reason at all.  

  • Are you allowing yourself to enjoy those micro-moments when they come your way? Remember to be in the moment as much as you can. There’s no need to shoo away joy or appreciation because it’s not big enough. Soak it in, and it will grow.

  • Also, think about how you can build these kinds of micro-moments into your organization’s culture.  Are you overlooking the small stuff when those minor successes could (should) be celebrated? Remember how important appreciation is to your people; acknowledge their contributions, even if only through a micro-moment.

There’s no need to go overboard and acknowledge every positive thing that happens, but do remember to do it every once in awhile.  It will make you – and your people – feel good.  

At least for that micro-moment…

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