This week I got to spend time with some fascinating individuals. Lots of things were shared that made me stop and think – none more than this quote from master facilitator Brandon Allen:
Everything is a gift. Whatever feedback anyone gives you, whatever anyone says to you, or about you, just remember: everything is a gift.
This was a hard lesson for me. I sometimes take it personally – too personally – when people say things to me that hurt my feelings, or that are unkind, or that are just wrong.
And yet, by focusing on the gift, and saying (in my head) “Everything is a gift” it can stop me, give me pause, and make me really think about what someone actually said.
Everything is a gift
I can take other’ feedback and throw it away, like a gift I didn’t want or ask for, that someone I don’t care about gave me to make themselves feel better. I’ve gotten many of these gifts – and probably given these gifts too. These are the unsolicited, uneducated opinions of people who do not deserve space in my head. The online arguments with people I don’t really know – or care about – that sometimes get way too much energy and attention.
Everything is a gift
I can receive other’s feedback, especially from who I value, and I can set it aside, and unpack it later. I don’t need to open it, to unpack it, right now. I can consider that person more thoughtfully, and when I can unpack it, I can choose whether to incorporate it into my work, or I can just leave it, unwrapped, in the closet, to be used another time, or to be regifted to someone else who might want or need it.
Everything is a gift
It isn’t personal. That it isn’t about me. That it’s about the GIVER, and letting the GIVER give what they have and what they feel is best. It does not mean I need to be the RECEIVER of the impact of that gift. After all, it’s just a gift, right?
I’m sure there are lot more lessons here to unpack, but these are a few of the quick ones, of the gifts I found in Brandon’s words. Thanks Brandon.
What you do with this information is up to you. I give it to you freely, to consider, to ponder, to throw away, or to regift to someone else.
Everything is a gift.