Happy Thanksgiving!
In many homes across the globe people are giving thanks, and talking about those people, places and things they appreciate and are most grateful for. It’s a wonderful Thanksgiving Day practice, one that would transform us all into kinder, gentler, and more appreciative human beings if only we did it more often.
Seven days ago, I asked you to “choose values” to help you “get everything else you need to be successful.” In honor of the day, I’d like to share the thanks I give, for the Hawaiian yet universal values of Managing with Aloha, for they are available to us all. To have them, we only need decide to live them, and the fact that we can seize them so easily, branding them as our own, is in itself quite a lot to be thankful for!
—I give thanks for the value of unconditional love and acceptance, for Aloha.
—I give thanks for the value of industriousness, and worthwhile work, for Ho‘ohana.
—I give thanks for the value of creativity and decisiveness in life, for ‘Imi ola.
—I give thanks for the value of persistence and perseverance, for Ho‘omau.
—I give thanks for the value of achievement and excellence, for Kūlia i ka nu‘u.
—I give thanks for the value of hospitality and generosity, for Ho‘okipa.
—I give thanks for the value of family and community, for ‘Ohana.
—I give thanks for the value of collaboration and harmony, for Lōkahi.
—I give thanks for the value of inclusiveness and togetherness, for Kākou.
—I give thanks for the value of responsibility and ownership, for Kuleana.
—I give thanks for the value of learning and mastery, for ‘Ike loa.
—I give thanks for the value of humility and modesty, for Ha‘aha‘a.
—I give thanks for the value of dignity and respect, for Ho‘ohanohano.
—I give thanks for the value of initiative and leadership, for Alaka‘i.
—I give thanks for the value of caring and compassion, for Mālama.
—I give thanks for the value of appreciation and gratitude, for Mahalo.
—I give thanks for the value of integrity, honesty and truth, for Nānā i ke kumu.
—I give thanks for the value of rightness and balance, for Pono.
—I give thanks for the value of hope and promise, for Ka lā hiki ola.
Be thankful that you have the ability to choose from life-shaping values such as these, understanding that they are but a few of your choices. You choose them in the everyday ways that define your behavior, your dignity, and your sense of worth. You define you, and for that capacity you have to create the very best of possibilities in life, give thanks and live in joy.
What are the values that have helped shaped your life, the ones that you are most grateful for?
What will the next action you take be in celebration of them?
Related articles:
Rosa Say is the author of Managing with Aloha, Bringing Hawaii’s Universal Values to the Art of Business and the Talking Story blog. She is the founder of Say Leadership Coaching, a company dedicated to bringing nobility to the working arts of management and leadership. For more on the universal values of Managing with Aloha, click to the linked index in the left column of www.ManagingWithAloha.com
