Every year, we pick a theme that we want the company to focus on as a whole. In 2022, our theme was “Shine and Be Kind.”
Our theme this year was influenced by the scripture Micah 6:8, which is to do what is right to other people, be kind to others, and live humbly.
Our team is discussing what 2022 has taught us about giving or receiving kindness that we are grateful for, our best laughs of the year, and some all-around reflection on 2022 as the year comes to a close.
Why kindness is not just about feeling good
Kindness is always about telling the truth with respect and in love, but it’s not always a good feeling. Kindness really does have to start with ourselves. We have to be honest and kind to ourselves.
For Mark, kindness has really shown up in the past quarter, especially during the offboarding calls, where there are times that it is really heartbreaking to see some of our clients go after years of working together. Staying true to our promise and value of loving them on their way out is really amazing. To wish them all the best and assist them in whatever ways we can so that they are set for success, that is kindness.
Being mindful of what you put out to the world
Something to remember is to not take kindness for granted because it's not owed to you. Being mindful of kindness and always keeping the spirit of kindness in front of you is a good practice.
Also, be kind to those who may not always deserve your kindness. Be kind to them anyway, despite their behavior or how they respond to your kindness. And remember, you are not responsible for how they respond to your kindness.
Going over our individual “word of the year” and how it manifested for us this year
Our team picks a word of the year each year around Thanksmas and it may not always show up for you the way you actually imagined it would. The team is sharing what their word for 2022 is and how that has actually shown up for them so far this year.
- Marilyn – Compound. It's about focusing on the little things and not getting discouraged. For instance, with my health, I am constantly trying to do something, whether it's drinking more water or losing weight, and those things are difficult for me. So when I'm not getting movement or I don't see any results, I have to remember to just keep doing the little things.
- Sue – Attraversiamo. It means let's cross over. This year, I am exercising that muscle to put boundaries in place and to protect my margins so that I can have energy for work but also have energy for my family, for my church, for my friends, and things like that. It has not always been very comfortable.
- Mark – Realize. I think to realize is to appreciate; it is showing me that time can be my friend and that it's okay to slow down because it gives you clarity and it allows you to realize the beauty and joy in small things that you don't usually notice when you are looking. And doing things at a very fast pace.
- Sumer – Light. The way it has grown personally and professionally for me this year is that I've lost 39 pounds. It has made me feel better at work, in life, and with my family.
- Jerry – Zen. I've really tried to work very hard this year to remain calm, stay more relaxed, and just be at peace with myself and others. It's had its challenges. Whatever word you pick, you're going to have challenges against that word for sure. And I've had my fair share, but I've been blessed with my family. We don't always get along that well in my personal family, but it just kind of all came together, and we're just doing a lot better now. We're in a better place, and everything's kind of mellowing out. And my home family that I have here in the house has really helped me as well because they try—they might not know that they're trying—but they do try hard to keep me kind of leveled, calm, and just more relaxed. I'm very grateful for that.
- Ashley – Acquire. One of my major goals this year was to buy a house, which obviously is not happening, not in this market. I feel like what I've really acquired this year is patience. I'm not a patient person with anything. I’m trying to be patient for all the things that can't really happen right now and training myself to intentionally pause, from which greater things will come.
- Jessica – Listen. For me, my word was about listening to God, the Holy Spirit, and staying attached to what he wanted. It's just been a whole big season of learning how to trust, and I really didn't know that I had such big issues with trust anymore, but I did, and I still do on several levels. And I think one of the big things that I have learned to do this year is ask myself, “Am I going to die on this hill today?” I was often ready to just die on whatever hill I decided I wanted to die on at the moment. I think the word listen has shown up to help me be more intentional about how I move into the next conversation, the next moment, or the next decision. The unraveling has been tough, but it's definitely producing good fruit, I think, from my perspective.
Our best laughs for 2022
We do a lot of laughing here at The Bottom Line®. We all have some really great belly laugh moments that bring us back to laughter when we think about them. Some of the moments are inside the house at TBL, and some are in our personal lives. Here are some of our best 2022 moments that we hope you enjoy as well.
- Marilyn – I was sitting on the back porch with my boyfriend, Brian, and we were talking about foreign languages, and I was saying how much I wanted to learn Spanish and how hard it was for me to just retain a foreign language. He said, “Yeah, we need to get that Helen Keller book.” He meant Rosetta Stone, but it was so funny.
- Sue – Jess and I were on a call with a client, and if you ever have the opportunity to be on a call with Jess, it's phenomenal because she deep dives and she starts unraveling and pulling strings. We're about two thirds of the way through the call when Jess just kind of looks up at the camera at the client and is like, “Sorry about the financial colonoscopy.” When I shared this laugh with our team, they had plenty to say about how we could market this gem. I never thought the word colonoscopy would cause me to laugh. That's been the best laugh I think I've had in years.
- Mark – On one of our L10 calls, Summer was the scribe, but she just kept scrolling the page, making it impossible for us to read the notes she was making. It started as a serious call, but it broke the seriousness, and now I just can't stop laughing about it.
- Jerry – My very best friend, who I'm also married to, is absolutely hilarious. She just makes me laugh all the time. So we spend a lot of time on the couch, you know, just hanging out with each other, and we laugh a lot. And she was talking to her mother on the phone, and her mom was just asking her how she was doing and everything and asking her if she was staying warm. And without missing a beat, my wife says, “Oh, we're staying warm, mom.” I look over, and the air conditioner is on full blast. It's like there's a wind tunnel going on in our house, and she's telling her mom that we're staying warm. And I'm just hee hawing. I don't know how she didn't hear it on the other side.
- Ashley – We did a ladies' dinner for our local team back in probably late spring, maybe early summer. And it was one of the first times I had met some of our team members in person. So we get to this restaurant, and Sumer and I are the first two people there. We sit down, and there is this thing in the middle of the table, and I think, no big deal. Right? So there are like eight of us—maybe nine—and they sit us all down at the table when everyone arrives, and Jess is to my left. I just grabbed this object in the middle of the table, and I kept asking, “What do we do with this bush?” There was a little plant in the middle of the table. And I just kept repeating that. I just wanted the waitress to take this bush and put it somewhere; I didn't want to break it because we were trying to share appetizers and it was in the way. And then we all came to the realization that “bush” is one of Jessica's words that she doesn't like. It is one of the two words that she's like, “No, thank you.” I had no idea, but I just kept saying it over and over without knowing. We got into this conversation about everybody’s least favorite words, and it probably was one of the greatest laughs to kind of share as the team together.
- Jessica – This just happened with Jerry on our couch. He watches the stupidest YouTube videos on the planet. And I'm just usually sitting there, spending time with him on the laptop, while he watches these crazy YouTube videos. And yesterday he was watching this sincere, heartfelt YouTube reel. It was puppies, babies, all these random acts of kindness showing humanity in its best possible human form. I was a sobbing mess, and he was almost on the floor, passing out laughing because I had this big sigh, like it was just so terrible. We just busted out laughing.
Our favorite Thanksgiving foods
Everyone has their favorite Thanksgiving food that they look forward to around the holidays. The team shares their absolute go-to foods.
- Marilyn – Cornbread dressing
- Sue – Smoked turkey
- Mark – Roasted turkey
- Sumer – Greenbean casserole
- Jerry – Turkey
- Ashley – Smoked ribs
- Jessica – Mac and cheese
If you want to learn more about our gratitude and giving in 2022, check out Episode 110: Gratitude & Giving 2022: TBL Team Gathers to Share in The Spirit of The Season.
