Monday Morning Match is a quick post – maybe a quote, inspirational story or idea – intended to spark some motivation inside each of you so your week gets off to a fantastic start on Monday morning.
“We Should Get Together”
When was the last time you heard that or made the suggestion to someone else? Probably more often than you think, yet you still end up uttering the same words the next time you randomly run into them. Usually neither side is avoiding the meeting, it just doesn’t take a high enough priority to make it happen. When you do finally get together it often reinforces the reason why you wanted to get together in the first place – you have a lot in common, you enjoy each others company and you always leave energized by the meeting.
The name is on our calendar because it’s their birthday yet we don’t send them a card. Someone’s name pops into our head out of the blue but we don’t call. We are in someone’s neighborhood and we just don’t find time to knock on their door and say “hello.”
We have become busier and busier in a world where time is a priceless commodity. It seems to take a major event to get old friends or families together these days. In a work setting, it could be a convention or a business retreat that gives a reason to reconnect. In our personal lives it might be a wedding or a funeral that serves as an excuse.
This past week I had a reminder of how warm we feel when we say “we should get together” yet how cold we feel when the circumstances aren’t good for the meeting. My Aunt Jane (on my mother’s side of the family) passed away and we attended her funeral in Connecticut. While it was great to see my two cousins and their beautiful families, the reason for our trip was sad. We spent a little less 24 hours there yet were able to reminisce a lifetime of memories from my Mom and her sister’s youth as well as our annual visits to New England to visit the Wamesters.
It’s a Relationship Business
How often do you get face-to-face with your immediate family? Your extended family? How about your customers and best clients?
Social media has made our world smaller and more connected but seeing someone’s avatar and reading their tweet just isn’t the same as standing belly to belly, sharing a meal or a drink and hearing their real voice and laughter. It doesn’t have to be daily or even weekly but if somehow, you could find a way to “reach out and touch” those connections in your life, you might not have to regret not doing it sooner.
Look through your CRM or database this week. Who closed on their house one year ago this week? 5 years ago? Who has a birthday or anniversary this week? Who has lost a loved one or had a new baby? Who are the names that jump off the page as people you’ve thought “I should reach out to them”?
Don’t wait. Make the call.
Rest in Peace Aunt Jane.
Photo Credit: Sean Carpenter
Oil Painting Credit: Jane Wamester