You see at the networking events at Inner Circle, it's about helping those around you and in turn being helped, usually by someone completely different
Why don't you have a look at the site and see what's on offer and when the next meeting is and the venue and then come and join us for some great networking opportunities.
Give yourself a better chance of succeeding
Tessa Silberbauer
15 January 2007 at 06h00
As a child, there was one saying that always baffled me: What goes around, comes around. First it made no sense at all, and then it made me think of God as a great big accountant who would throw me an easy test if I gave away my sweets.
Then I expected people to be nice to me if I was nice to them. Reality doesn't always work that way. But it doesn't make the saying a lie, either. After all, if you do someone a favour, it is unlikely that the recipient will be able to return it.
True charity is a gift given, without expectations of any return, to someone who depends on the gift for survival of a kind. But generosity is usually returned in unexpected ways. Because you don't expect it, you don't look for it, and while you're learning about it, you don't see it because you aren't looking for it. And if you can't see it you can't recognise it.
Over time, I have committed crazy acts of kindness for many people. Some of them were acknowledged; most of them were taken with no return; sometimes I didn't even get a smile of thanks. But, at the same time, I have been helped by little coincidences and generous strangers - at times when I truly needed it. And at first, I started to become resentful when my efforts were not reciprocated. But, looking back, I can say that the help was returned in ways I could never have imagined. And having that evidence in hand, I have changed my expectations. I expect to be helped - but I expect that help to be a chance word overheard that gives new inspiration, or a sunset that inspires. And that expectation is never disappointed.
Last week, we covered the tricky question, what do you want? And the nasty one that follows: what do you want first? But once you have decided what you want, how you want it to look and feel like, and how important these dreams are to you, you haven't yet finished the process of goal-setting. To turn your idea of the future from a nice-to-have into a going-to-have, you need to give it some guidelines.
For example, when do you want this to happen? To change perspective slightly: you need to set your expectations. Define the limits that make your goal acceptable or inadequate. Take a look at the goals you've set for this year. One by one, answer the questions below, and add any other parameters that may occur to you.
Under what circumstances would you reject this goal? For example, most of us would like more money, but would reject it if it resulted from crime.
How much of your resources are you prepared to spend on this goal?
What resources do you have available? Are they sufficient? For example, if your goal is to write, you would obviously need literacy, something to write about, and either a PC or a working pen and paper.
When do you want this goal to happen?
How much time do you have available?
How much time are you prepared to make available? In other words, what activities are you prepared to give up so that this goal is achieved? The process of setting goals is lengthy and you have to set limits on your goals for effectiveness. The problem is that most people misunderstand the number of stages involved in the process of goal-setting. And as a result many end up setting themselves up for failure even before they begin the first action item on their list. Give yourself a better chance of succeeding this year.
Tessa Silberbauer is a Joburg based life management trainer. For information, corporate training or private consulting, contact her at 083-310-0955 or livingskills@webmail.co.za
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment