Say for example you decide today that you need to change the status of your health for the better and you magically expect it to become better just because you wished for it without actually doing something about it. If you really wanted to change your situation in this scenario you’d look up few articles online, read books on the matter, change your food habits, work out and maybe you would even learn to cook a few fresh and raw recipes, gradually your health situation would become better because your actions were well informed and you actively took part in the process of doing a little more. It’s about going the extra mile. You can't rush, just because it's necessary for us to go the extra mile doesn't mean we need to speed up to get there but then again that part depends totally on the circumstances of the situation.
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” , sure but you can’t expect to be healthy just eating the apple one day and another one in 4 days or five. this is the thing > an apple a day keeps the doctor away.. you have to keep eating that apple everyday. You have to be constant . We want a promotion ? We need to go the extra mile, we have to give more than others are giving, work more than others are working, and we’ll get that promotion, always the extra mile. If others are working 9-5 and so are we then there's clearly no way we can even expect to get attention, you become the average, the mass, no distinction, just like the others. Why do we then expect a better situation when we are not even willing to put more hours, effort and care… MORE THAN OTHERS - that will then make a difference. If there's two people and they love you the same way and only one can stay with you, which one are you going to choose? The one that will go the extra mile for you, right? I think this very idea is applicable in almost every scenario of our lives. I’ve seen numerous situations where two people having the same degrees, experience and expertise working in the same company yet one of them received a bigger salary than the other. The one that got a bigger paycheck, got it because his efforts were aligned with the idea of going the extra mile. In anything that we do, it’s always the extra mile that receives the most attention, yet this is one thing most of us fail in. How about thanking your parents every once in awhile telling them how much you really love them and appreciate them constantly, the relationship with your parents is going to change. Put a little extra effort in caring about the people around you ( your colleagues, friends, family and maybe even some people you randomly stumble upon) and the dynamics of the relationship you have with them will change for the better and it will have an amazing effect on their personal lives and the lives of the people they touch and come in contact with because of your little extra effort. The student who just does what the teacher says is a good student but the student who goes the extra mile then receives ‘distinction’. What are we then really aiming for? the average or distinction?
Husbands nagging wives not to go to work. Wives nagging husbands to come home early. Girlfriends nagging boyfriends to stop flirting on Facebook. Boyfriends nagging girlfriends not to dress in a certain way. We all know what comes after, right? If wifey dearest wants to go to work, she goes to work, there is no point saying the same thing over and over again. If girlfriends are adamant about the way they want to dress then there is no point in you nagging about wanting to be her personal fashion stylist or in some cases, fashion police. Doesn’t work that way. ( just sayin' ! ) Constantly blabbing about something which is pestering someone’s personal space and/or disturbing the energy and peace of the situation the person is inhibiting in(we all have our personal space), is not an ideal situation by which you can gain your attention to get your point across. But then again, there are pros and cons to every situation I believe except, however, I couldn’t find any pros to being dead, but that’s besides the point. We have all turned into that 'nagging wife’, constantly trying to put our points across. I mean we should be considering the moment and the situation and also (it may sound crazy) maybe even the time
of the day we choose to talk about a certain matter ( i’m not even kidding ). The whole point that i’m trying to make here is, there’s no point nagging if you want to get your point across or you want to achieve a positive outcome of a certain situation. There is no situation you can't win over. You just have to play with it, dance with it, and influence the right temperature/season to achieve the outcome you desire. When you say something and you keep repeating the same thing over and over again hoping that you will be heard? You’re wrong my friend, you are creating a greater disconnect between you and the person or the people you are trying to engage with. Same thing works for business, your social circles and your personal relationships. Cheers !!
Now my friends, there is a big problem.
In a hyper connected world, where the world is only a small town now, we are losing the ‘human touch’. I feel the more connected we are becoming digitally, the farther we are straying ourselves away emotionally and thus affecting the overall status of our relationships as a whole. In this hyper connected world, relationships are not what it was like before. Let me tell you why. Anyone we want to talk to or reach out to is only a click away, with numerous social media platforms sprouting every other day we have a plethora of choices when it comes to who we want to be with now. Due to this, the tolerance level in people is coming down, well, in most cases if not every. What do I mean about the tolerance level? I mean back in the days when the internet or the social media was not in it’s prime, the relationship quality were attuned to patience and that patience came from attention; complete focused attention to the person you are interacting with. However, now the scenario is kind of like 'i don’t have time, if you love me tell me and we can move on to deep waters or I already have others poking, nudging and texting me ‘. Strong relationships are built gradually over time and proper care. I love technology, but not at the cost of losing genuine relationships where attention is the capital. In a recent study, it says that the human attention is less than a goldfish’s attention span now which is less than 8 seconds, whereas a goldfish has an attention span of 9 seconds. Now that, is scary. I think every once in awhile we should switch off, connect with nature as nature gives soul it’s texture and thus helps us reconnect with all the people around us outside the ‘screens’ and all the 'beeps' that demand our constant attention. Next time, try to really listen, connect and respond to whoever you are talking to in-person, hear their intonations, their pauses and response and respond accordingly and in due time your relationship quality will soar, trust me. I can’t help thinking that the best things in life are going to waste while we are texting, emailing and checking out twitter timelines. We are all staring into our mobile phones when we could be looking into the eyes of the people we love. ( big sigh!!!) |
Alex McKenzieEntrepreneur, Marketer, PR Practitioner, & Co-Founder/CEO - Fireflame Media Archives
March 2017
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