Only a few days left before we reach 2018… and the letter of the month is „L“. Before I tell you which word I chose, I’ll start with a short story.

A few weeks ago, I attended an event with a good friend at Hannover’s town hall where we all watched the live streaming of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. The mayor was proud to mention that Hannover belongs to an organisation called „Mayors for Peace“ which supports ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) that received the prize this year. The mayor also told us we could all feel like we received a part of that prize too…

While watching the ceremony, I found the word of the month: LAUREATE. It describes the recipient of an award. And I would like to know: which prize did you win in 2017? In which category are you a LAUREATE this year? Maybe it is something that you worked hard to achieve or something that was not planned and that you discovered along the way.

Maybe you were especially good this year at leading efficient meetings or setting realistic deadlines for your team or taking more time to play with your children or exercising according to your personal trainer. You should know yourself what you were especially or exceptionally good at during the year. And I am curious… remember in December of last year (check this link)… when I wrote about DO and BE. Would you be a LAUREATE in one of the categories that you chose one year ago? Let me know if there is a match and even if there is none ;-).

Make sure you take the time to celebrate your prize. As examples, you can write it on a whiteboard in your office or cheer to it with friends and family or simply make a note in your phone. Take that prize with you in the new year to ensure a good start ;-).

At this point, I even invite you to expand the reflection further: which prize would each of your team members or colleagues or family members win? You could even tell and thank them for that prize. I suggest you even add a small ritual to it so that people around you feel appreciated for what they did and what they are. In case this seems too much for you this year, give it a thought on how you can implement such a ritual in the next year.

With the new year coming, I also want to challenge you. It’s not because you won one prize this year that you should rest on your LAURELS in the next year… (you might have guessed that the word LAUREATE is derived from LAUREL). So, as of today, you can already decide which prize you want to win in 2018. And remember: it’s not about perfection, it’s all about progression :-)!

I wish you a wonderful transition to the new year and look forward to further exploring the alphabet with you in 2018!

Inspiringly yours,
Caroline