Gracefull Receiving
Every Tuesday morning, without fail I meet my training partner for a swim followed by an hour of weights. We met randomly last year because we were in the pool at the same time. Since then, she has converted me from “will never set foot in a gym” to really enjoying the benefits of feeling not just fit but strong too.
It’s been a real game changer for me.
She turned 40 a few weeks back. Now I love giving presents, but I think really carefully about what I want to give. It’s important to me that I don’t give a gift that will end up in landfill. Sometimes I ask what people would like and other times it’s nice to surprise.
The response I got was the most amazing example of ‘grace-full receiving’.
We were warming down doing some easy kick with boards having a chat.
“Thank you so much for my birthday present. I love my note book so much. I’m using the sections tabs to make notes from books and seminars and training days. I’ve also cracked opening the sticky notes. You know how much I like to leave myself notes round the house to remind me of what I need to remember. Oh and I’m finishing a book now so I’m going to read yours next. I really appreciate you giving me things that I can use, and you know I would like. It’s so funny, one of my other friends also bought me a notebook. You know me so well.”
I came away from that conversation feeling pretty awesome about myself. Now here’s how you can do the same for someone else.
Let’s break this down into the key steps:
- Express gratitude for the gift, support or compliment. “Thank you so much for this….”
- Future pace its use. “I’m going to give this pride of place on the mantelpiece.” “Next time I’m feeling exhausted I’m going to remember that comment and feel better.” “Your support had provided me with absolute peace of mind that things have been taken care of properly.”
- Express how it makes you feel. “I feel honoured/adored/loved/appreciated/supported.”
I’d love to hear the responses you get from grace-full receiving and how this is different to normal.