August is #GreenFlagMonth.
That is, as declared by me, Gaynor Paynter of Typewrite Transcription.
We hear a lot about GREEN FLAGS on the internet, specially social media, but what exactly are they? In this context, a GREEN FLAG means a ‘good’ action by a company or an individual.
I was watching a TikTok by Jason Ritter (currently playing Julian in Matlock), (an awesome account to follow if you just want to be uplifted) where he was showing us a card trick, and randomly his cat, Mark, jumped up on the table and moved past. Jason said ‘hey Mark,’ and continued with his trick. A really simple thing, but it jumped out at me immediately. That’s a GREEN FLAG. He treats animals well and will treat women and children well too. A RED FLAG (the opposite, something bad done by an individual or organisation) would have been if he had done something nasty to the cat like shouted at him or kicked him or something. Chances are he would do that to women and children too.
It made me start thinking about green flags. You can’t give many green flags to others if you don’t give yourself some by respecting and treating yourself well. But we’re not all lucky enough to be made to feel that we’re worth treating ourselves well. It’s unnatural to us. So we have to work hard at it. Like everything, it’s habit forming. And if you’ve had a lifetime of red flagging yourself, it may not be so easy to change the habit. Therefore – we need a month to do it.
Why is it important to identify these flags?
Red flags cause stress, anxiety and unhappiness which affect all aspects of life – work, family, private life and health.
For example:
Some years ago, I started got into the habit of working very late, long hours. I don’t mean once in a while, which could be necessary when running your own business. I mean every night. It just started being a habit, and that even might be perfectly alright, but there was a problem – I had to get up early to take the kids to school, and that started to become impossible, and sometimes made them late for school. It also made me groggy and exhausted when trying to work afterwards. This was a RED FLAG – to my children, their school, clients – and me. It even ended up affecting my diabetes. The habit has been hard to break, and some days I still struggle.
Green flags make us feel better about ourselves, and make the world feel better about us.
For example:
To describe how I worked on the red flag example, the first step was realising that something needed to change. Well, it sort of knocked me between the eyes – I burned out.
What did I do:
- Set up a wind down routine, including:
- having supper early each night,
- taking the dog for a walk,
- finishing work for the day
- making time for a relaxing bath
- reading
- planting lavender
- playing music
- watching favourite TV shows
In other words create a calming atmosphere. And set a (fairly flexible) bedtime. This was a GREEN FLAG – to my kids, to my clients, and to me.
Are you thinking it wouldn’t be easy, or that you couldn’t manage it? You can.
How to go about it:
- Get red and green pens (or use red and green text in a document)
- Get somewhere to record your daily actions (an old school exercise book or diary, or a digital resource)
- Note down things as you do them, in green or red (make columns if you’d like)
- Assess your actions. Is being late a red flag? Yes. Is completing a task a green flag? Yes.
- Read through your results daily.
- Discuss it with your family to see how they can assist.
Soon you’ll notice patterns and decide if you need to make changes.
Day to day green flags to give and receive:
- Validating concerns (hearing, responding and remembering)
- Giving respect in malls or in traffic (not driving too fast slow or too fast, giving way, obeying the rules of the road)
- Treating waiters and others well
- Greeting people
There are many more. If people are NOT doing this for you, then they are giving you RED FLAGS. The more green flags the world gives and receives, the better it will be. We can make it happen, by starting with us!
We’ll be posting about #greenflags across our social media this month, so follow along and give us your input.
Wishing you all the best!
Our goal is to help you achieve your goals – #greenflag yourself by taking us up on the offer.
Regards,
