November starts with All Saints Day on the 1st, All Souls Day on the 2nd. It is the 11th month, signaling that the year is about to end. In numerology, eleven is the number about balance; interpreted to mean vision, invention, and also refinement (whats-your-sign.com). But November is also about remembering, as is done with celebrating the saints and prayers for departed souls are offered.
Remembering is that process that connects the present to the past. Office best practices are connected by an event that happened five months ago to the current challenge. It is important to understand that continuity is preserved because of recall using diaries, recorded events, and conversations. Colleagues and managers leave, employee turnover happens, and love ones pass on but these changes are opportunities to appreciate the ongoing personal or professional learning over the years.
November is that time for taking stock of goals undertaken in the beginning of the year. Among those goals could be improving soft skills such as accepting feedback, adapting to new practices, or critical thinking. Perhaps having boundaries so that work does not encroach on family life is another.
Above all, November is the month for thanksgiving. Because work and its daily demands get the most attention, life’s many gifts may go unappreciated.
To begin the act of appreciation, write a to do list of three to five activities. Once the list is done, try and complete at least one every month. No pressure. For example, an activity could be taking photos with the iPhone. Catch the sun’s orange haze in an afternoon. Take pictures of family and friends. Create a collage; it will be a reminder of happy days past. Make an effort to talk to family and friends instead of emailing and sending a text.
But there’s no need to wait for November for appreciation. Looking back to having lived a day, there’s reason to look forward to the sun’s joyful energy and light, to try and accomplish more for one’s personal and professional life. Remembering can help sustain todays and tomorrows.
Written by Yoli P.- The Help