#1goodthingtoday: A channel for things we’re grateful for
by Jodit Santander
“Joy is possible in the midst of difficulty.” I first heard this on the On Being podcast episode of Christa Tipett with Ross Gay called, “Tending Joy and Practicing Delight.” They re-uploaded the 2019 episode two weeks after the global pandemic was declared and the world went on lockdown. At that time, I remember keeping tabs on the number of cases around the world, watching the news about the pandemic response, and I also remember feeling helpless. Our “normal” lives were being disrupted, emotions were heightened because of uncertainty and fear, but in the midst of it, it revealed to me that there was a lot of work that needed to be done. At that time, happiness wasn’t the priority and to feel joy felt absurd then. What Ross Gay insisted on the podcast was to see what’s terrible, but also see the wonderful and beautiful; that joy is possible in the midst of difficulty. After listening to the podcast, I went on to read Ross Gay’s “Book of Delights” which is a collection of essays which served as his record of small joys in a span of a year. Somehow, the book served as an invitation, permission, and a constant reminder for me that there’s always at least one good thing in our daily lives.
During the early days of the lockdown, WeSolve was also just starting to be formed as a foundation. Collective impact work is not as easy and doing it remotely is, in itself, another challenge. Some of us had not seen each other in person so, like everybody else, we all had to get acquainted and work collaboratively online – Zoom, Google Workspace and Slack were our major channels.
In the kind of collective impact work and coalition building that WeSolve does, it’s easy to get caught up with our day-to-day tasks. Problem-solving with a lot of different communities and organizations takes a lot of time, effort, and energy and there is a tendency to take small moments for granted. Since I’m not directly involved in the field unlike some of the WeSolve fellows, I get to see the hard work that they do from a different perspective. And because of that, I thought of sharing the gratitude practice I picked up before even before the pandemic but was greatly reminded by the podcast.
In one of our first meetings as a team, I thought of creating a Slack channel where we could celebrate even the smallest moments that brought joy in the midst of the pandemic, isolation and work. I named the channel #1goodthingtoday in hopes that the team would also build on the habit of pausing and thinking about at least one good thing that happened on their day.
By sharing #1goodthingtoday within the team, we get to build a culture where everyone is involved and finds a safe space where happiness isn’t an afterthought or a reward, but, rather, an anchor that helps us power-through.
This practice, among many:
- Creates a culture of gratitude. At WeSolve, we don’t brush off our disappointments as we know they can also serve a purpose, but we don’t focus all our attention on them. For us, remembering the positive things where we are at the present balances out the frustrating ones.
- Encourages trust, safety and camaraderie in the workplace. Sharing wins together (however big or small) in a time of isolation is one way we feel connected with each other.
- Creates a healthier and more sustainable work environment and culture. Practicing this helps us humanize our work and makes for a healthy working environment, despite the challenges that the pandemic has brought to our lives.
There’s no timeline for when you need to be grateful that’s why here are some of the things shared on our #1goodthingtoday channel:
If you really sit down and pause, even for just 5 minutes, you’ll realize that there’s always at least #1goodthing.
We celebrate #1goodthingtoday on the first year anniversary of WeSolve Foundation, keeping in mind our gratitude for a year of progress and working together.
Jodit is the Development Associate at WeSolve Foundation, Inc.
