SAP Social Sabbatical (Part 3): Time to Shine
In my second blog I concluded with how intrinsic motivation is a powerful tool for not only unleashing your engagement but ensuring you stay energized and empowered along your way to reaching your goals. The fun part if that when you consciously set a goal, you really enjoy celebrating it when you reach it!
This is exactly how I felt by the end of the first week of my SAP Social Sabbatical journey, which I can only describe as a sense of belonging with my Social Sabbatical cohort and initial connections with my client organization, Partners Albania for Change and Development. By this time we were diving into our projects and deeper relationships were forming within the group and sub-teams. When spending almost twelve hours with your teammates it’s essential to build trust, form open dialogue, be vulnerable and take the time to truly be present for one another. Our Out of Offices were on and all twelve of us were engaged and present. Actively listening, supporting, and throwing themselves into this intense experience, knowing the more you give, the more you will likely get back in return. I was already overwhelmed with the sense of destiny. Destined to meet these eleven other SAP colleagues and destined to be in Albania.
So how is it I gave myself permission to celebrate my success only one week into this journey? You’d think the reasonable success metrics would be to accomplish the project, complete the 4-week sabbatical and return home/office safely. When I embarked on this journey, I thought the same too. However, my perception started to change much quicker. We mistakenly set goals sequentially at the end of phase or stage, when a milestone has been accomplished or an output delivered. This makes perfect sense for all the projects I’ve ever managed. But Social Sabbatical is not a project, it is a journey of self-reflection, a non-linear evaluation, and a series of new human connections with people you’d never ordinarily meet in your daily life. Instead, you are introduced to communities that are far out of your normal radar.
This is when Dariel entered my life, and it was a life-changing moment. One that I will cherish forever. It was at this moment I had the realization that if I didn’t complete the next three weeks of my sabbatical, I knew I had already far exceeded my goals, my aspirations, and my dream.
Normally my pragmatic sense would be to curb any feelings of success or positivity until I was sure that I had truly earned the right to celebrate any success. However, this time I allowed myself to shine: shine in these thoughts of self-gratitude and pride for having had the courage to take this leap of faith that landed me in Albania. This was my plateau moment of self-accomplishment knowing that if I achieved anything further it would be the cherry on the cake. I felt like I was standing on the peak of a mountain anticipating a glorious sunrise; enwrapped in this warm, glowing aura of satisfaction and excitement as I allowed myself to truly celebrate reaching my goal.
It could be challenged that’s too much self-appreciation for simply boarding a plane and generally socializing. So let me backtrack and share with you the event that led me to this moment:
It was an event adequately named the Night to Shine, a gala hosted and organised by the Jonathan Center in Albania. The Jonathan Center was one of our four client organizations. Their mission is “to enable children with Down Syndrome for an independent life and to integrate into the Albania society with full rights through specialized therapies…” and provide full support to families.
The Night to Shine gala is a worldwide movement, a vision started and supported by the Tim Tebow Foundation which has ignited churches worldwide to host a prom on the same night for adults with special needs. The guests are celebrated with a red-carpet welcome, crowns and tiaras, games, dancing, dinner, photo portraits and overall VIP treatment. The vision is to provide an unforgettable night full of faith, hope, and love for the amazing people with special needs who are truly Kings and Queens.
The Jonathan Center implemented this vision for their Down Syndrome community, and we were given the explicit pleasure of attending this prestigious occasion. When accepting we had really no insights as to what the event was about, the role we would play or how we could contribute. So with the team’s mantra ‘Go with the Flow’ firmly cemented by this point, we did just that.
On arrival, entering the glorious ballroom you knew it was going to be a special night. Decorated appropriately for royalty, a banquet and the crowns and tiaras glittered under the warm glow from the grandiose chandeliers. It was a perfect venue.
Our team were quickly enlisted as cheerleaders for the red-carpet entrance. Every King and Queen would enter with their chaperone and be welcomed by a thunderous roar of applause, high fiving, and rapturous cheering. Witnessing the smiles of the guest and their families as they strode across the red carpet was so heartwarming. I felt privileged to be there in person to witness first-hand how much of an impact this event was having on their life. In that moment, they were treated equally, with no bias or discrimination. They were just themselves.
Then much to our surprise some of us were individually invited to be a chaperone to some of the guests and this is when I met Dariel. He was charming with a huge, warm smile and used his best English to tell me his name. I felt so proud to be able to walk alongside him, arm-in-arm down the red carpet striding towards his proud Mum at the very end photographing every step. He was such a gentleman as we took our seats to eat and exchanged a few pleasantries in basic English. He showed off his dance moves and introduced me to his friends. In this moment he was King of rock n roll and his family were patient with me as they tried to teach me some Albania steps when the traditional music struck up.
I felt like a small star in their huge universe shining and Dariel’s grace and friendship in the few hours we had together was forever lasting as it touched my soul and heart. I did very little except be present and engaged. I realized that my ego thought I would be the one making a difference, marking an impact on the Albanians. In fact, it would be the opposite. I needed the humility to understand that I would be the one far more impacted and forever changed by them.
Any goal I had coming into my Social Sabbatical at this point took a severe U-turn as I realized that I needed to be completely open to new experiences, like an empty vessel that would be filled up with all the offerings, learnings, knowledge, stories the Albanians had to offer. Any preconceived ideas, conceptions or assumptions needed to be deleted from my mind.
Just like my new SAP family, I felt belonging with this new community I had just entered and felt so at home. We may not speak the same language but that was not a barrier. I could see and feel the love, the warmth, the hospitality, and the kindness as all human beings enjoying the spirit of this moment.
With my heart completely overflowing with joy, I left the event knowing I was well and truly transforming on this magical ride. Eating dinner with my fellow teammates afterwards, I knew I wasn’t the only one. This event was often remarked upon as a highlight experience in our concluding days of the sabbatical.
This gala was just one of the many highlights and my next blog will expand on our combined learnings and memories of the sabbatical and what it means to have a dream. To quote the Roma Versitas team from their closing presentation, they shared what it means for the Roma community when they opened their pitch with the powerful and fighting words: “I have a dream”.
Martin Luther King Jr did not address his nation with the words “I have a vision” or “I have a mission”. No, he inspired nations and cultures ahead of him to ‘have a dream’. A call for equality and the measures it needs to make our world a better place. Stay tuned to learn more about how our Albania Social Sabbatical teams are working in our own small way to help make this dream a reality.
#SAP #SocialSabbatical #WingsofChange #Albania #SAP4Good #LifeAtSAP #Tirana
