Achieving the cooperation and shared-vision for reaching a mutual
understanding between the parties requires everyone involved in the relationship
to be aware of the investment to understand the true nature of the relationship
itself. Relationships are like annuities entitling the investors to a long-term
series of annual sums. Having this understanding about friendships, the
relationship is my investment and theirs that must grow with interest over time.
It makes me wonder about the relationships we have in our professional lives; at
work, in organizations and across our communities.
I often wonder if business relationships can survive over time like a friendship
in the social context of life. I find myself wondering at times if my business
relationships can be considered as genuine and true as the few real
relationships I have in the social context of my life. Why must our business
relationships feel as if there's a quid pro quo or underlining agenda at times?
Does this mean that they're not healthy? Or, does it simply mean that it is what
it is; a simple acquaintance that only resides in a certain space of time or
real estate at a given time – to be treated different from other relationships
we may have? Now, I'm not saying that it happens in all of professional
relationships, but I am sure that you can name a few that resemble the quid pro
quo style that I am referring.
In the end, it doesn't matter if a relationship is a business one or a genuine
friendship. The choice is basically up to you about how you want it to be
nurtured over time. Building healthy relationships requires you to understand
the “art of detachment” and the “wisdom of uncertainty.” The art of detachment
carries with it the freedom to let go of your past in order to accept the
unknowns in the future. Stepping into the future requires you to break the bonds
in your present to trust what is not yet seen; possibly filled with abundant
possibilities after the surrender of the past has been completed in order to
carry life into the future. The future is filled with creativity, waiting to be
unharnessed and allowed to gallop, with unrelenting freedom.
This is how friendships, social and in business, can begin on a path of
prosperity to last over a lifetime. The art of detachment is a third friend in
any friendship of two and so on. Regardless of the friendships we are building
in our work capacity or in the social context of life, the art of detachment
falls in line always knowing its place. It will find the right time to introduce
the wisdom of uncertainty that most people wonder about out of curiosity what to
expect next.
The wisdom of uncertainty is a clear picture of who you are as an individual;
the way you think, speak, act, behave; considering your character and the
direction you are headed with your life – in life. It is your willingness to
accept the unknowns and feel confident about the adventurous journey uncertainty
creates. So, as we take the time to be true with ourselves, accepting the art of
detachment to be free with our thoughts regardless of the uncertainties, we'll
be able to see the possibilities to remain more open about the mysteries life
has to offer – in the people we meet, the relationships we choose to develop and
the lives we decide to influence along the paths throughout our journey.
As we continue to allow relationships to be welcomed in through the cracks in
our personal windows, it would be important to remember a few things before
making the investment. Relationships carry with them a way to pay life forward;
all good investments until we allow them to become poor performing annuities:
- Relationships are more than people, they are you and you are them.
- Relationships treat you the way you treat them.
- Relationships is not potential waiting to happen, they are possibilities
to be created.
- Relationships are people, places, actions, noises, quietness, happiness
and despair; all things in life that create a healthy balance for people to
grow, to know and to go somewhere alone or together.
- Relationships are teams engineered with accountability, responsibility
and survivability talents waiting to be exposed at the right time and in the
right moment.
So, as I sit still wondering about the next team we will encounter, I can't
help to wonder what investments I and we are bringing to the relationships. What
deposits and withdrawals are we making? What impacts or influences are we
causing from the art of detachment's perspective? All of these things run
through my mind as I sit here on a bench in the middle aisle of a busy mall
watching people and the relationships people have with themselves and… other
people.
I've come to my own conclusion about relationships; what changes our world is
consciousness. What create consciousness are relationships. Relationships have
risks, limitations, disappointments, expectations, and an uncanny way of dying,
while being reborn all at the same time. They are filled with happiness, joy and
laughter, abundance and opportunity with the ability to transform into uncommon
bonds of love and despair simultaneously. Relationships are unique. They are raw
and uncut, polished and unpolished. They are funny to watch and not so fun at
times when you are the leading character in a very bad movie. They build with
levels of paramount conclusions that never end, yet they remain in chorus with
life's drumbeat as a Broadway musical performance.
Relationships are a special kind of… well, special. How do you think about
relationships? Some may think that relationships don't require all of this
thinking, but I am in the people business, always in contact with people on a
relationship basis. Some I want and enjoy, while others I do not – want or wish
to enjoy, but in the end, it is still a relationship where I am a party with a
certain level of accountability and responsibility to ensure its survivability.
Relationships are a mirror of life; my life, your life and theirs! I plan to do
my life better.
When was the last time you considered to do life better?