I have a challenge for you this week. I want you to reach out to ten people in your network you have not connected with in quite some time just to say hi, see how they’re doing, or ask what they have been up to.I bet that once you get started, you won’t just stop this week. Instead, you’ll probably go on to challenge yourself to connect with ten people a week for ten weeks.You’ll probably also drop me a note to say thanks.

If you are knee-deep in your annual planning and budgeting process, you’ll know this is the time of year when businesses and individuals focus on growth in the year ahead. If your goal is growth, there are many shiny objects out there competing for resources and your attention. As a leader, you will need to prioritize the things that will actually move the needle in the right direction. After a tumultuous few years, we’ve all had to look at priorities a little differently. Last year my goals for 2022 were to get out of the house, travel more, capture images with my camera, and sit in Madison Square Garden again to watch and listen to Billy Joel.

When I was in elementary school, there was no more exciting of a day than when I brought home a permission slip for a field trip for my mom or dad to sign.It meant time away from the classroom and the opportunity to visit the Bronx Zoo, Mystic Seaport, Sturbridge Village, The Statue of Liberty, The Museum of Natural History, or the planetarium at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center.When I think about it now, these signatures on a slip of paper represented the opportunity to pause from day-to-day, take a break, explore, and learn something new—permission to unlock my growth mindset and explore my curiosity.As I thought more about it, I introduced the idea of permission slips into discussions with my clients.

I have a challenge for you this week. I want you to reach out to ten people in your network you have not connected with in quite some time just to say hi, see how they’re doing, or ask what they have been up to.I bet that once you get started, you won’t just stop this week. Instead, you’ll probably go on to challenge yourself to connect with ten people a week for ten weeks.You’ll probably also drop me a note to say thanks.

You’ve just hung up on a call with a colleague. They have called to tell you that they just accepted a brand new opportunity. That same feeling that came over you last week and last month and the month before that begins to set in.

You may no longer be commuting to the office 5 days a week, but the days and the weeks seem to be getting longer and longer with no relief in sight. Your mood is wearing thin on everyone in your inner circle.

Do you ever dream of that moment when you can finally march into the Executive’s office and hand in your resignation? But as much as that dream feels so enticing, right now you feel so trapped that quitting feels impossible.

The longer you have these questions bouncing around your head, the deeper your funk can become. And when you are in that type of funk, you might even start to believe the lie that you don’t have anything left to offer.