On vacation, my hope and expectation is that I will reconnect with my heart. I typically do this through reading, journaling and just thinking. I read a great article on the critical elements of emotional intelligence in leadership. Daniel Goleman shared that two critical elements in leadership are empathy and self-awareness. Empathy is about feeling with another person. You have to be able to understand where a person is coming from in order to help him/her move forward. I believe there is objectivity to empathizing in the sense that you have to be able to stay detached enough from the emotion to stay present with the person.
Self-awareness is not only knowing yourself, your triggers and your emotions, but also knowing how these impact those around you. Sometimes the best thing I can do is simply acknowledge that I am struggling or feeling a certain emotion and it seems that I am able to work through it with those around me.
My heart is about living with a sense of passion, a desire for accomplishment, a strong sense of empathy for others and a life lived in the service of others. Perhaps, this picture from the end of one of our hikes with inspire you. A part of this hike is entitled "Inspiration Point"
