Cultivating Vibrant Relationships Part 3 & Final – Better Communities Benefit Us All

The communities we live in and work in matter in our lives more than most of us realize. For example, if small businesses along our community’s main boulevard start going out of business it can lead to rundown buildings in a once flourishing community. This has a trickle-down effect that can impact schools, job potential, and social interactions at the most local level. This is why communities matter and why they need our thought and attention.

Aside from economic interests and wellbeing, there is also much we can learn from our community to support how it warrants our attention and love. Research is just one example of something that can affect a community’s well being.

Stanford University shares this about how research can impact a community’s vibrancy:

• Equal footing between a researcher and the community should be established. For example, if you wish to learn more about cancer rates in your community you need to have cooperation from both ends.
• Have an agreement on what outcomes you are seeking. Is the interest in social or policy changes? For example, what benefits could come from a new community center to help teenagers?
• An empowered community is a community that will act. True transformation only happens when the community acts. Regardless of who does research, without a supportive community, there is no growth. For example, research may find that a community has a desire for the arts, but the research cannot make this happen—the community must.

Another quality of better communities is that they are more personal. The importance of getting to know your neighbors matters, too. Doing so creates a friendly feeling that brings out the best in others. It also offers the opportunity to do things from the heart.

When a community has a crisis, who are the first ones to step up and help? Others in that community, of course!

Our ability to be of service to others is one of the greatest gifts we have to offer. Few things will ever feel as heartwarming as being able to offer relief, support, kindness, or time to a person in need. When we are this type of person, we are sending out energy that changes the world for the better, even if we are doing it at the smallest level. Even just saying “hello” to a neighbor can have a big impact.

These are important issues that should matter to a person. Being involved makes a difference. It may require you to stop thinking of it as “more time spent” and start recognizing it as an investment that will benefit individuals, families, and workplaces.

Investing in Community

Equity can mean many things. There is financial equity, sweat equity, time equity and probably a dozen more. Investing with these various types of equity means investing something—time, money, labor, goods, services, etc.—in your community. Like most investments, investing in your community will also lead to a return on your investment . . . even if you don’t see it right away.

When you invest in others, you won’t see a return right away. But people have a habit of remembering what others do for them. There is a lovely word: Reciprocity, “the practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit.” It means that what you put in, others will put in toward you. By taking the time to help others in any way you can, you build goodwill. You create an environment that fosters collaboration and allows for engagement between community members.

However, that is not to say that you should overextend yourself. There is an art to saying no. Investing, just like with your finances, means putting in only what is within your means. But even small investments can yield huge returns with enough time and patience. Start small. And as fortune favors you, pay it forward to others. Inspire others to do the same.

Cultivating Vibrant Relationships – The Takeaway

Our most inspired life begins with thought leadership and how we can use our own thoughts to make a difference for the greater good. As we do this, we naturally benefit as well, and this is important! We are a part of the collective consciousness and both the giver and receiver of the greater good we put forth.

When we bring our best to all the situations, we are demonstrating the importance of optimism and clarity and using these valuable qualities that exist within us to build trust, which is essential to being a thought leader whom others will consider . . . listening to, following, and believing in.

This is the foundation of all the great relationships our life will bring to us. Knowing these concepts, even at a base level, from a young age will help us to make the most out of our education. From there, it also carries over into our personal lives and how we connect with our family and spouse, or other friends and loved ones. Ultimately, this fulfillment in our personal lives will carry over into our professional endeavors as well.

We spend a lot of our lives at work, which means that the quality of our work experience is of paramount importance to us. There is no greater way to be of service than to give our best. This means having a continued focus on our personal development and how our actions either contribute to or take away from our workplace. Let us all be contributors!

When we know how to contribute effectively, we are learning a pathway forward that will benefit us on an individual level and also the communities in which we live in, shop in, socialize in, and serve in.

It is impossible to know the importance of a community if we are not treating it as a valuable part of our life.

 We should view our communities as our families. Yes, we may have literal family that lives within our community; however, all its members should be viewed through a lens that builds understanding. Understanding is essential to change and acceptance.

All of us have a great and exciting role to play in making the best of life. We are the leads in our story. Why not build an amazing supporting cast? Doing so will help us be put in the spirit of being the doers of good deeds and innovators of positivity for areas in which we wish to make a difference.

To read more and explore the letters of The CREED WAY, get your copy from Amazon (both print and kindle) as well as Virgin Megastores & Kinokuniya.