When I was driving back to Ithaca after the holidays I was listening to The School of Greatness podcast by Lewis Howes. He was interviewing Felicia Day, who I think is one of the coolest female content creators on the internet. Seriously, she’s awesome. Definitely go check out her work if you’ve never heard of her. Towards the end of the interview as things were wrapping up Lewis said, “Hey, I just want to take a second to acknowledge you.”
This threw me off because I’ve listened to this podcast on and off for the past few years and I had never remembered the host doing this. He literally took the next 2 – 3 minutes to acknowledge the body of work Felicia has created. Then he mentioned explicitly the impact that her work has had on him and other creators, and truly thanked her for art and her unique contribution to the world. Whoa.
I was stunned by his candor and then totally delighted by Felicia’s reaction. This wasn’t one of those Hollywood, super fake, flattery fests. This was real. It was genuine and, as a listener, I could tell that Felicia was really touched.
I then started to think about how rarely we do this for other people that we admire. And then it really struck me that we never even give this gift to ourselves.
So here’s my challenge to you: Who can you acknowledge this week? Maybe it’s a co-worker or lab mate that has mentored and trained you over the years. Maybe it’s a neighbor that always offers a kind word and a smile when you bump into each other. No matter how close you are to the person or the scale of your interactions, let people know that they matter to you. Let them know that you see them, their presence makes a difference, and you’re grateful to share the world with them. Seriously, do it.
And then for yourself
Take some time to acknowledge what you bring into the world. There was a song I really liked that had the lyrics:
“I have to keep reminding myself, I’m not like anyone else
……no one exactly like this, no one with my fingerprint”
How quickly do we forget? It seems like we are always so focused on improvement and productivity and efficiency that we don’t take a moment to breathe. A moment to just exist and be totally present. And maybe within these quiet moments we could simply reflect on the goodness we bring into the world. To honestly acknowledge the impact we have on others and the awesomeness that we create. It’s real, and it’s right in front of your face if you’d only slow down to acknowledge it.
You are fucking awesome. Acknowledge it.
Believe it.