This is True in More Ways Than You Might Think
Two weeks ago, I told you that I was going to go deeper into a business tool last week, but because it was Independence Day, I didn’t. So, my plan was to focus on that this week. Well, due to an unexpected situation I found myself in, I’m going to put that discussion off for another week.
This topic is more important.
Last Thursday, when I planned to finish writing the weekly solution, those plans changed. Believe me, this change was not on my schedule. After a long night of the worst pain I have ever experienced, I found myself in the hospital with gallstones.
One of the hardest parts about all of this was that my situation affected other people, and that really bothered me.
My wife is in a pool league, and taking me to the hospital kept her from playing. She also had an open house scheduled that evening, and there was still preparation that needed to be done. I had planned to take my son to a movie he had been dying to see, and I couldn’t do that either. Then there was the weekly solution that still needed to be finished so it could be published.
I hate being a burden to others, but it’s not like this situation was by choice.
Being flexibly rigid is one of the most important parts of productivity. Things aren’t always going to go as planned, and they require flexibility. At the same time, when we’re faced with choices, we need to know what the priorities are and where we need to remain rigid.
Flexible rigidity is something I can do well, but I hadn’t thought about how it pertains to more than just myself. My wife had to be flexibly rigid with her plans. She had to decide what was going to change and what wasn’t. My son was going to have to wait to see the movie until I could reschedule. I reached out to my VA about finishing the weekly solution, and she was willing to make the adjustments that worked for her.
After everything that happened this past week, I’ve been thinking a lot about community.
What is community?
It depends on where you look, but most definitions are pretty much what we would expect: a social group whose members live in a specific area or share common interests, culture, and heritage. Community is also often thought of as our physical neighbors.
I see community a little differently. It certainly includes those things, but it’s much bigger than that. According to Simplicable, the word community originates from the Latin communitas, referring to unstructured social groups in which members are equal and share some sense of fellowship, shared responsibility, and joint ownership.
Here are a few things worth remembering about community:
- Communities provide belonging. Belonging is the feeling that you are recognized, valued, and needed by others.
- Communities serve social needs. People are highly social and need to feel connected to those around them.
- Communities provide acceptance. A healthy community accepts you as both a member and as a person.
- Communities require interaction. Without interaction, communities eventually become nothing more than a crowd.
- Communities can be unstructured. They don’t require rules, hierarchies or institutions to function.
Shared responsibility and joint ownership are things we need today.
After my experience this past week, I have been surrounded and supported by community. Some of that support came from family members. Some came from my business team. Some came from the medical professionals at the doctor’s office and hospital whom I will most likely never meet again.
I’m currently reading a book for the second time that I think does a great job of showing us what community should be like. The book is Theo of Golden by Allen Levi.
There are two points I want to make about community.
First, we’re not very good members of a community when we refuse to let others help us. Second, we need to be willing to take off the blinders, look around, and help where we can.
There is a balance to be found. It shouldn’t be all one way or the other.
I’m grateful for the community that surrounded me this past week.