A friend and I have started to catch up regularly as a way of remaining focused on our respective goals. Part of this catch up involves each of us identifying out loud what we would like to be acknowledged for. The idea is that we choose something that we would like the other person to acknowledge us for.

At first, I was a little unsure about this. I don’t always feel comfortable with making requests of others, and I also don’t feel comfortable with blowing my own trumpet. Asking someone to acknowledge something positive that I had identified in myself was taking me right out of my comfort zone. I formed the assessment that this idea had been suggested for a reason, and decided to be curious about it and just see what happened.

I am so pleased that I made this decision because, in my opinion, this exercise has been amazing.

What I have discovered is that identifying something within me for which I want to be acknowledged currently seems to require me to genuinely reflect on who I am being and what I have been doing. It requires me to understand myself – what is easy for me, what I find challenging, why I make the choices that I make, why I find something challenging or easy, and so forth. And, as I reflect, I feel myself becoming grateful for who I am. Then, because I am speaking this acknowledgement out loud to another person, I feel as though I am really owning who I am being and declaring my gratitude for that. Hearing someone else then provide their acknowledgement of me (at my request) feels incredibly powerful and is the icing on what I see as a cake of greatness.

Because of this process, I have been able to acknowledge a number of aspects of who I am and what I am trying to achieve, including my determination to keep going, my ability to achieve results when my days and weeks already seem full to the brim with my normal everyday life activities, and my ability to think creatively about how to move forward with my offer as a coach and facilitator. This has been an incredible learning opportunity, and it has encouraged me to value and respect myself while being grateful for who I am. As my perception of what I am capable of changes, my assessments of my own worthiness are also changing.

This has been an amazing experience and, for me, the benefits feel exponential. It has led me to wondering whether any of us take enough time to acknowledge who we are being, the challenges that we are facing and what we are achieving. What benefit could there be in making acknowledgement of ourselves a regular practice? I feel as though this could be huge.

And so, I invite you to consider:

• What would you like to be acknowledged for right now?
• Who could you make a request to for making this acknowledgement back to you, out loud?

As a leadership and life coach, I help people explore how they are being in their interactions as leaders and in life. I use the Be. Do. Learn. approach to assist people in shifting their obstacles and turning them into pathways. If you feel that it would be useful to have a conversation with me, please contact me via the Leading and Being website or via email: deanne@leadingandbeing.com  

Featured Image Source: With thanks to John Hain from Pixabay