Colleagues,
 
MVP: “Let the one who knows the way lead.”
 
Happy Halloween!
 
Between two weeks of greatest hits and a week of daily messages from Mara, it has been several weeks since I put my fingers to keyboard to share a thought with you. I’m still in Kenya as I write this but will have been home for a week by the time you read it.
 
At one point during our travels, our group was bumbling around, and someone said, “Let the one who knows the way lead.”
 
In many organizations, we expect “the leader” to lead, even if “the leader” doesn’t know the way. Strategic leaders are intentional at identifying and cultivating leadership in others and providing them opportunities to lead when those people are the ones who know the way.
 
Look for an opportunity today – is there someone who can help lead the way in a particular area where the path forward is unclear?

Cheers!

​Frederick

Colleagues,

MVP: Take time. 

This might sound cheesy, but when I moved to Greensboro, NC in May, I was so excited to bake something in my new kitchen. But until last week, I still had yet to bake anything. 
To be honest, last week was really hard for me and I got stuck on the fact that I still hadn’t baked anything in my kitchen, which didn’t even feel new anymore. When I dug a little deeper, I realized that it wasn’t necessarily the baking that I was so caught up on, it was what it represented: time, balance, abundance, success.

I decided enough was enough. I was going to bake something. I made some pumpkin spice muffins and I shared them with my friends. It made me so happy that I did it again the next day. I realized it really didn't take that much time and it brought me so much joy. It turned my week around. 

As we go into the weekend, I challenge you to forget the to-do lists for just a moment. Think about something small you have been wanting to do, but have convinced yourself isn't a priority. This weekend, it IS a priority. Go do it, and let me know how it went! 
If you'd like to reply to this email or send me a message, you can email me here.

Thank you for trusting me to lead you through this week's emails -- I had fun. Cheers to the weekend!

Sending Sunshine,

​Mara

Colleagues,

MVP: The stories we tell ourselves aren’t always true
 
Over the last few years I’ve been learning a lot about the stories or beliefs we have about ourselves and how often we actually believe them. Oftentimes, stories are how we think things “should be.” 
 
For example: Because I haven't gone to graduate school yet, I’m lazy. Laziness is wrong, therefore I’m wrong. 
 
The truth is, going to grad school doesn't dictate if I’m wrong, lazy, or ultimately worthy. 
 
But the other truth to this is if I didn’t address these stories or take time to notice they are even there, how will I know they aren’t true?
 
What are the stories you tell yourself? Do they actually help you? Just because you think or feel something doesn't mean it’s always true. 

If you'd like to reply to this email or send me a message, you can email me here.

Sending Sunshine,

​Mara

Colleagues,

MVP: Trust yourself

I made a joke the other day. I was having a hard time and I said to my partner, “nothing’s wrong but it sure ain’t right.” I laughed and then sat for a second and realized how true that joke felt. 

I’m 23, a little over a year out of college, and I have three jobs. 

One of these jobs is working with a startup company that has some really amazing ideas and visions that could make real change in our communities. I’ve enjoyed working with them for over 6 months now and nothing is wrong… but it still just doesn't feel right. It hasn’t from the beginning, but I thought it was fear of doing something new and I wanted to give it a shot and push myself. 6 months later and I’m feeling the same way. Again, nothing is wrong, but it sure ain’t right. 

So what do I do? I’m trusting myself. I’m diving inward, reflecting on what I’m feeling, and trusting those emotions and feelings. 

When you notice something is off, do you explain it away or trust your intuition?

If you'd like to reply to this email or send me a message, you can email me here.

Sending Sunshine,

​Mara

Colleagues,

MVP: Value what you feel inside
 
Have you ever recognized how you were feeling and intellectualized it or explained away the emotions? Have you ever said to yourself, “I shouldn’t feel this way because …”?
 
I’ve recently been working on acknowledging when I dismiss my feelings. Goodness, it’s hard. When we dismiss our feelings, we invalidate ourselves. We lie to ourselves and we send the message that our emotions aren’t important... that WE aren't important.
 
Rather than dismissing or making excuses, just say “yes.” Say yes to the anger, the sadness, the overwhelm, guilt and grief, to fatigue, to resentment… Say yes to joy, to love, to gratitude and pride. Say yes to not wanting to feel it. Say yes to feeling uncomfortable.
 
Acceptance is harder than we give it credit for. Accepting your feelings is accepting yourself. Accepting yourself leads to a better and truer you. A better you means you can support and lead your people with empathy and honesty. 
 
Be honest with yourself. Sit with the hard stuff and the emotions you don't want to feel. Maybe write it in your morning pages. Say yes. It’s hard, but it’s worth it. 

If you'd like to reply to this email or send me a message, you can email me here.

Sending Sunshine,

​Mara