While Alan Alda was on vacation, he featured a guest podcast with Katie Couric entitled “Katie Couric and Sheryl Sandberg Take Over the Pod.” Accompanying Katie and Sheryl was Adam Grant who co-authored a book with Sheryl about facing adversity and building resilience in the face of raw grief (after the sudden death of her husband).
Some of the key points that I reflected on from the podcast:
- Acknowledge people’s pain; and not just once. Sheryl noted that she often found grief to be an elephant in the room and was always appreciative not only when people passed on their condolences, but in the following weeks, asked her how she and the kids were doing.
- Grief is a demanding companion. What a descriptive way of explaining grief; a companion by your side, always pulling at you for attention.
- Lean in to your feelings versus resisting them. Sheryl stated that it really is okay to experience your feelings so as to process them instead of pushing them down.
- Give yourself permission to find and experience humour in the midst of death. Not only is laughter filled with healing qualities, being able to find humour amidst sadness reminds us of the blending of human emotion.
- Find meaning. It helps us to move towards acceptance.
- The human spirit has the capacity to persevere. Grieving is a way to honour our loved one; it is also an avenue for growth.
To listen to the full podcast: http://www.aldacommunicationtraining.com/podcast/katie-couric-sheryl-sandberg-take-pod/
To visit Sheryl’s website and get details about her book: https://optionb.org/
Photo credit: http://Photo by Evan Kirby on Unsplash
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