Eleven Big-Hug Mindful Thanksgiving Practices

PITTSBURGH - Nov. 5, 2015 - PRLog -- Pittsburgh, PA, November 5, 2015 – Corner Office Impact Coach Mary Lee Gannon announces her “Big-Hug Mindful Thanksgiving Practices” to put a spark in your Thanksgiving traditions this year.

Mary Lee created these practices as a single mother of four children under seven-years-old struggling through a divorce that took her and her children from the country club life to public assistance from where she reinvented her life to support her family. These mindful practices kept her and her children grounded and focused on the things that matter.

“Gratitude is a feeling of appreciation for an act of kindness, a situation that brings you joy or a person that touched our heart,” Mary Lee explains. “When we act on that gratitude and mindfully DO something about it we are extending ourselves in a way that takes that thought out of our head and puts the power to make a difference right in our hands. It gives us actionable purpose. In essence – it is like giving a big hug. My children and I gave and received a lot of hugs when the chips were down and those hugs kept us connected us to each other and giving back.”

Today Mary Lee gives back in a professional capacity as the CEO of St. Margaret Foundation, a $24 million organization at UPMC St. Margaret Hospital and also serves as a business coach for people who want to play big in the corner office.

Eleven Big Hug Mindful Thanksgiving Practices (Mary Lee and her family have done all of these.)

1.      Write a gratitude letter to a mentor, family member, or someone important you have not appropriately thanked.

2.      Keep a Gratitude Journal with a list of things for which you are thankful.

3.      Keep a Gratitude Box where you put cards, letters and other keepsakes you collect throughout the year from people you appreciate.

4.      Create a Family Journal that is brought out at every Thanksgiving dinner whereby each family member writes what they are thankful for.

5.      Put every family member’s name in a hat at the Thanksgiving table. Each person pulls a name and gives a specific reason why they are thankful for that person.

6.      Do something special for a homeless shelter, battered women’s shelter, convalescent home or other charity and include a special note as to why you care about them.

7.      Gather toys, clothes, and home furnishings to take to the Goodwill, Salvation Army, or thrift store.

8.      Drop a handwritten note of thanks to your coworkers.

9.      Take the time to chat with a veteran about his experience. Thank her for making it so that your spouse can come home every night. Thank him for the sacrifice his family makes because he is not at home.

10.  Cook a meal or deliver baked goods to your local fire department or police department for Thanksgiving.

11.  Bring a small gift to the hospital for patients who cannot be at home for the holiday or to a neighbor. The gift could be a mini-birdfeeder made from a pine cone rolled in Crisco and birdseed to hang on a tree branch.

Mary Lee Gannon, ACC, CAE is an award winning Corner Office Impact Coach, author, speaker and president of StartingOverNow.com – a consulting firm that helps people get off the treadmill to nowhere and play big in the corner office with mindful leadership practices. Mary Lee has a unique perspective with 20+ years as a CEO and currently leads St. Margaret Foundation in Pittsburgh, a $24 million organization within a 60,000 employee organization, as well as coaches executives on how mindful practice, and a mindset shift lead to more confidence, connections, calm for the high earning corner office leader.

Mary Lee’s personal turnaround came as a stay-at-home mother with four children under seven-years-old who endured a divorce that took her and her children from the country club life to public assistance from where she re-invented her life to support her family.

Mary Lee is an International Coach Federation Certified Coach, graduate of Duquesne University's Professional Coaching Program, a Certified Association Executive, a participant in the UCLA Mindful Awareness Practices Program, an alumnus of the Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital Coaching in Medicine & Leadership Conference, and author or two books: Reinvent You – From Welfare to CEO and Starting Over. Mary Lee was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by Pittsburgh Society of Association Executives and the Women of Integrity Award by Pittsburgh Professional Women. Mary Lee is the "Mindful Leadership" columnist for Smart Business Magazine. She’s been featured in Money Magazine, ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR, Yahoo.com, U.S. News and World Report, msn.com, Forbes.com, CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com.