As I sat to write my column, I searched for something interesting or different in the week that went by and found nothing. I reflected “Was that anything painful or difficult?” or “Was there something particularly joyful and out of the ordinary?” Again, I found nothing. Nothing that stood out, or felt like it was worth delving into for the lesson that I could glean from it. And in that reflection, it appeared, that the ordinary was what was extraordinary.
I saw the gift of an ordinary week and how grateful I am to have enjoyed it.
A week spent with Deepa and Cookie, doing nothing special. Evenings settled into the comfortable arms of my lazy-boy chair, with Cookie curled up at my feet. Morning tea, followed by the excitement of Cookie launching herself onto my lap and licking my head clean.
Talking with Dad every evening. Binge-watching Mentalist with Deepa. Morning walks in the mad Delhi heat. Giving Cookie a bath and towelling her down.
An ordinary week, spent meeting my colleagues and clients in person. A long traffic-filled drive from Gurugram to Okhla. Cafeteria food, lunch table gossip, appraisal conversations, meeting the new team members, a quick trip to Mumbai to introduce the new batch of Adfactorites to campaign planning. Enjoying some Chinese food that was ordered in, to celebrate a farewell and a few milestones. Searching for my car outside the office in the evening, driving home in the rain, listening to the best of Bread.
Catching up with office friends and getting to know what is going on in their lives (not just their work updates). Attending an industry event and enjoying the camaraderie of peers. Doing a morning-evening flight to Bangalore, to meet a potential client. The last-minute pitch rehearsal and the happy feeling on the way home, knowing that our ideas were well received.
Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. No big moments, just many little ones that felt ordinary, a normal week at work. And just like that, I slipped back into the routine of a blessed week of ordinariness.
In PR parlance we call this Business As Usual or BAU work. A large part of reputation-building work is done brick, by brick like this. Just the ordinary stuff, which lays the foundation for something grander to rest on. The tent-pole moments come, sometimes they are good ones and sometimes they are not so good. The ability to weather the storms and enjoy the highs is built on the brilliance of the ordinary weeks.
In life, in communications, and coaching, it’s those quiet ordinary weeks that help shape who you are. They are where habits get formed, rituals get established and character emerges. It’s from here that strength grows. Weeks spent like this are the legs on which we stand tall. This ordinary week that went by was like the silence of presence in a coaching conversation, bearing witness to life, that allows insight to emerge. The ordinary week is a reminder to be present and enjoy those moments – they are a gift.
Here is me reminding myself to be grateful for the ordinary and the extraordinary. Both have their place in life and whatever next week brings, I shall meet it with a warm hello and see where we go from there.
Hidden in this ordinary week, was a lesson. Here is what I learnt. Showing up matters. Being present matters. What makes it matter? The places and people for whom and with who you show up know that you care, and in those shared moments meaning is made. This “shared meaning” is often the ingredient that makes the ordinary, extraordinary.
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
A trusted coaching and communications professional, Nikhil Dey is a certified life and leadership coach (International Coach Federation - ICF). Nurturing talent and helping clients achieve their goals is what makes him happy. He loves learning from students of communication, teaching courses and guest lecturing at various educational institutions. When he is not working you will find him on the tennis court or out for long walks with his family and four legged friends.
Previously he has held senior leadership positions at Weber Shandwick and Genesis BCW.
He can be reached on twitter @deydreaming
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