“Here’s to strong wo/men..."
“Here’s to strong wo/men.
May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.” P. 1 /3
Do you know them?
Knowing strong people feels good.
They help show us the way to move forward, inspire us to be better versions of ourselves, encourage us to grow.
Stretch people
Stretch people are those who challenge us to live more meaningful lives. They are the friends who truly wish us the best. They are the supportive mentors who fill in the gaps in our imperfect skill set. They are the strong people who inspire us, who have our back and who we want to be more like.
Five people
One recent read which gave me pause suggested we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. Jeepers, I thought. That’s interesting. Who would my five be? And what would that look like?
Who do you spend most of your time with?
Can you picture what an imaginary average of them would look like, be like – what would their strengths, weaknesses, habits, lifestyle choices look like? And, is that imaginary ‘average’ where you want to sit?
If so, great!
If not – we can be conscious of where our gaps lie and pro-actively seek to fill them out.
We can be honest about our short comings, seeking help from others to fill these gaps and helping lift us up to reach our goals, our potential.
Support people
I know I struggle with the discipline of sticking to my exercise goals. I am much more disciplined when I’ve set up meeting a friend to exercise. She gets me out the door and on my way to the pool.
I know also that being really honest and risking a little vulnerability in sharing my goals can both take my friendships to a newer deeper level, and be mutually beneficial.
When I share my goals, my friends are then more likely to reciprocate and share their goals with me. I can act to support them as well. It's a win-win.
Lift people
I am absolutely blessed with friends and family – they are wise, funny, bright, creative, wonderful, loving people. I want the absolute world for them. So I figure, if I’m one of their five, then it’s a two –way street. I certainly want to do my bit and keep growing, learning, improving. I want to lift their five person average!
Connect people
One upside of our super interconnected world is how few the degrees of separation between us and those we wish to emulate now is. We can find them, read about them, follow them, subscribe to their blogs. We can be connected, learn and grow.
Inspire people
One of my favourite things is feeling the buzz of challenging and inspirational interactions. Being exposed to new ideas and opinions. Being challenged to stretch my thinking. Experiencing those ‘Aha’ moments. Finding the magic of like-minded people who invariably communicate their ideas way more effectively than I can. Guiding me, nudging me or sometimes giving me the shove I need to make the next step on my journey. Being inspired by the inspiring.
“You become what you focus on and like the people you spend the most time with”
John Spence.
Here’s to strong wo/men.
May we know them.
With thanks to:
John Spence
If you’re interested in listening to John, who is one of the thought leaders I follow, the link below has him speaking to a University student body.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSFFGh4_hB0
And motivational speaker, Jim Rohn
www.businessinsider.com.au/jim-rohn-youre-the-average-of-the-five-people-you-spend-the-most-time-with-2012-7?r=US&IR=T
Thank you for your time.
Feel free to share.
FUSE Strategy – Light it up!
If you'd like help with any of the above; leadership strengthening, strategy, transformation, culture improvement, any positive change initiative give me a call. I'd love to hear from you.
Leigh 027 669 1243