My holiday season 2021
Reconnecting with the joy to serve
After my burn out, I decided to work in retail to add customer service to my experience and skills. Being an introvert by nature, I always thought it would be hard on me. I wasn’t very confident about my people skills either. But I knew I wanted to create my own business and I saw customer service as a good place to start. As a reward for getting out of my comfort zone, I discovered that I LOVE serving others and that I actually excel at customer service.
This holiday season I was very fortunate to reconnect with this, by helping out a business owner I used to work with. Striving to deliver outstanding customer service in this fast pace and high standard establishment was exhilarating.
My experience in customer service has a lot to do with me turning into a coach after being in academia. I really love the fact that helping a customer is meeting someone, as they come. You never know who you’re talking to: what they’re going through in life or what they could teach you, even in the short span of a simple purchase at a store. Yesterday, one of my client mentioned that she finds it refreshing to talk with a health care professional who is not telling her what to do, but trying to help her find her own way.
The fact that an encounter in a store is a brief interaction, and that you don’t know if you would ever see this customer again, make it the essence of being in the moment. It is in relationship too, which means that it has all of the complexity of being human: facing someone with their mood, their way to communicate and their emotions. It can be messy, unpleasant, it can be kind, fun or confusing.
If you have never worked in retail, you wouldn’t believe how much people take it on the person at the register. Especially in the holiday season. To me, it’s a sign that they need help dealing with stress. It can be triggering when you’re on the receiving end.
What I have learned to strive for in my years of service is to remain the same person: someone with understanding, someone who can get in the customer’s shoes, someone who will keep smiling through the challenges and someone who will be kind. I don’t know if I would be able to do it if it wasn’t for my practice of mindfulness. Once the customer leaves with their order and in the next 3 seconds it’s time to face the next person, you have to let go of what happened, and show up with a smile, fully present.
In relation to customers, I have sharpened my attitude. I have learned to have an open mind, to give my full attention and to go the extra mile to give them an excellent service: being fast, reliable, helping them figure out the best product for the outcome they desire and doing it with gratitude, with a big smile, letting them feel that you want them back. Luckily, I don’t have to fake it because doing that gives me joy and energy.
Being able to get this energy during the holiday season was a great reminder of what I want to bring in my coaching and how I want to serve you.
Slow down, reflect, prepare
After Christmas eve, it was time for me to slow down. I took a social media sabbath, and I created an intention to have fun with my daughter between Christmas and NYE while giving a lot of free time to my husband.
I quit social media in 2018, and have started to use it again in the past year. When I do so with the intention to connect with people I admire or people I want to support, it is usually fruitful. It gave me many opportunities this year, including chatting on her podcast with Dr. Andrea Wilkinson.
Lifestyle Changes, the Sugar Crave, & Autophagy
However, I also fall prey to the mindless scrolling in which it feels like my attention is being sucked into a black hole. It also stirs feelings of inadequacy and a tendency to compare myself to others that is unproductive and depressing. So I have a lot of boundaries around using social media and I am learning how to best use it as a business owner. I would really love to hear what has worked for you.
Slowing down is always a challenge for me, due to my personality. But in doing so intentionally, what I have realized this week is that my focus and enjoyment in the moment are greatly increased. There’s a higher quality to the time I spend – as well as the outcome. This is a really important lesson for me. And I wish to cultivate this more in the New Year.
The word of 2022
As I usually do in December, I am planting seeds for 2022 with my annual vision for the year. The word that will drive me this year is SERVICE.
For this vision board exercise I am inviting flow, creativity and spirituality in my day to day with less structure to my schedule. It brings me joy, insight and inspiration. Creating goals for the year to come might sound like a chore, or something you kind of force yourself to do. But when you’re strongly connected to a sense of purpose in your life, it feels a lot more organic and fun. In fact, a strong sense of purpose is associated with greater wellbeing and longer lifespan. I am researching this topic for an upcoming article.
I am going to leave it as this for today. I would really like to hear what kind of a holiday season you had. Feel free to email me at catbirdwellness@gmail.com to share.
As my family decides to use Christmas as a time travel machine back to past traumas, in a background of drinking and anxiety, I am choosing joy, fun and hope. My motto, during holiday season just like anytime of year is to look forward, aim up and uplift others.
In 2022, as I strive to reach higher levels in every aspect of my life, I hope to get meet you, get to know what you are currently going through and bring all that I know to your service.
Are you interested in creating a strong vision for the New Year? Research shows that people who are able to create sustainable change in their lives have a series of distinct discoveries about themselves.
The first discovery is about who they want to be. If they were their best self, what would that look like?
I love to help people paint a vision of who they want to be in discovery calls. It is free of charge and free of commitment. Book now for your most powerful year ever:
