Week 13: A Journey of Gratitude

The only talk I felt was about gratitude this week was president Monson's talk, Attitude of Gratitude, which was beautiful, but the rest of the study materiel was great anyway.   

Here are a few things I liked: 

First from the video titled, Avoid the Wrong Job-  Don't take a job just to move forward to get to another job, pain outweighs the pros.  Career or job is not necessarily a long term decision now days. Specialization is not always the way sometimes you'll want to be a generalist.  Have fun with different projects and wide variety of knowledge and experiences.  Be ready for opportunities as they arise.

Next was from a case study about Randy Haykin. (I posted this in the class discussion feed about what was most meaningful about the case study).

1. Balance:  You lose balance when you forget the little things.  During times of high stress and time demands, it's helpful to understand that you don't need huge amounts of time or energy to have special connections and experiences with those you love, keeping your relationships alive and well.   I need to remember that paying attention to the little things can help each loved one, including ourselves, feel cared for and  important.    I like that Haykin talked about setting limitations being crucial.  He reminds to pace yourself or you'll eventually crash and burn.  I also liked the idea of finding people with different strengths to balance your perspectives and alleviate frustration points.  Others can fill in the areas you are weak, the Savior being the best one to "yoke" yourself with and make you whole. 

2.  Living Your Values: Match your day to day actions with your values.  Wow this one is powerful.  It's so easy to live life in the area of urgent but necessary, or even urgent and not necessary.  It is important to evaluate your life often to make sure the things you're spending your time on are those things that matter most to you.  

3.   Fun: Leaders have charisma and an element of playfulness.   The idea that people like to see other people having fun struck me.  I see this in the natural day to day life with children.  Children naturally find fun and excitement in the smallest of things.  Seeing those we love having fun, brings us joy.  I can see how a workplace environment or leader that encourages others to naturally have fun in what they are doing, would be enjoyable and successful.