1st of all happy Thanksgiving to all of you..
I’ve always said that I’m a student of life. When I say that, what I mean is that I learn more from people around me, from moments of life, from my friends, from my not friends, from acquaintances, and just from observing everybody else; than I would, inside a classroom or taking a lecture or following a book. When I see good, I learn how to do good, be good; when I see ‘not good’, I learn how to not do that, not be that.
And while Thanksgiving has mostly been just another holiday meant to eat and meet friends, this year I want to take the time to thank folks. Maybe it’s because I’m about to turn 40, maybe it’s because I feel that I’m at a big turning point in my life, maybe it’s just because of the way the last 2 years went with Covid. Whatever it is, it’s the year to thank everyone and to be thankful. So, thank you…
Thank you to everyone in my family who have always been here for me, whether I wanted them or not 😉 to support me and to make me who I am today.
Thank you to all of my friends who’ve been around me. And who have consciously and actively supported me promoted me.
Thank you to all of my colleagues, past and present, who taught me what it means to be in corporate world (India or US). Thank you for teaching me the good, the bad and the ugly.
Thank you to all my mentors and coaches, who provided supportive and constructive feedback. Those who supported me when I could see it, and those when I could not yet see it. And thank you for sometimes holding me back when I was about to leap without looking.
Thank you to my counselees and mentees, for making me think bigger than myself. Thank you for helping me become someone capable of helping you (if I was able to), or knowing that I need to do more to get there.
And finally, thank you to my naysayers, to those who held me back or pushed me back, because I am not like you or because I am too passionate for you. Thank you for making me work as hard as I can, so that despite the opposition, I would still strive. Thank you for making me understand my own boundaries for people pleasing, and then standing up for myself.
I hope that when you read this, you know which buckets (multiple) you fall in, and why I am thankful to have met you or to still have you in my life.
Once again, if the last years have taught us anything, it’s that life is short and we shouldn’t wait for special occasions to thank people. But today is a special occasion, literally meant for thanking, so THANK YOU.