TL;DR:
- How do you support those around you?
- How have you felt supported by others?
- What are your plans to strengthen relationships this season?
Here Comes the Sun
It’s May and no matter where you live, it is becoming a bit sunnier. Today, we’ll talk about sunshine metaphorically.
But before we talk about the sun, let’s talk about mountains. In the book Big Potential, author Shawn Achor shares a study about perceiving the slope of a hill. They asked people to stand alone at the bottom of a hill and predict its incline. Later, they had that same person look at the same hill but this time, they had someone alongside that they trusted. Guess what? That hill now looked 10%-20% less steep!
2022 is a little “hillier” than I would want it to be.
Some challenges right now seem a bit too steep for me to climb alone and I’ve desperately needed to feel the light, the warmth, and the support from those around me.
Many of you may remember me talking about my mom Bev, but I also had a best friend named Bev who we lost to breast cancer about 10 years ago when she was just 36. Bev was one of those people who decided she was going to “squeeze the heck out of life” after she was diagnosed…and boy did she ever!
Once her treatments began, she talked about the warmth and love she felt from others during this challenging season. She said, “You know when you’re sitting on a beach and the sun goes behind the clouds? And then all of a sudden it comes out and you feel its warmth? That’s what I feel right now during this time. When I start to feel cold or sad or alone, it’s like the sun comes out and love of my family and friends makes me feel warm and safe and supported.”
100% of happy people have the same thing in common: strong social relationships. Click To TweetWarm. Safe. Supported.
Yes, please!
In this space, we learned that 100% of happy people have the same thing in common: strong social relationships. I once heard friendship is just another way of saying, “I want to take some responsibility for your care.”
That warmth that Bev talked about? I can’t even tell you how many times I have felt that from family and friends that have shown up beautifully for my little family. One friend took time off of work to drive me where I needed to be. Another ushered my family from Newark Airport to the Philadelphia airport in one foul swoop. Yet another stocked my fridge and freezer with meals so I didn’t have to think about it. MY WORD. These conscious acts of kindness literally make all the difference in the world. When I am able to get to other side of this mountain, I will look back with gratitude and love for the way others showed up and it will inspire me to show up for others.
With the literal sunshine coming out more, it’s an opportunity for us to strengthen our relationships and be that for someone else.
Who is in a dark season? Who may be a bit quieter and has fallen off your radar? Who is staring at the bottom of a steep hill and needs some support to climb it? Maybe we can’t help them through everything, but we sure can love them through it and help them feel warm, safe and supported.
Go shine on them.
Here comes the sun.
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Small Shifts, BIG Gifts!
What relationship can you nurture in your personal or professional life? Think about someone who needs to feel warmth and support. Perform a conscious act of kindness and see how their happiness and your happiness levels increase and how your relationship is strengthened.
About Suzanne Dailey
Suzanne Dailey is a proud member of the Teach Better Family! She is an instructional coach in the Central Bucks School District where she has the honor and joy of working with elementary teachers and students in 15 buildings. Suzanne is Nationally Board Certified, a Fellow of the National Writing Project, and has a master’s degree in Reading. She is dedicated to nurturing and developing the whole child and teacher. Suzanne lives in Doylestown, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.
Check out the Teach Happier Podcast here!
