One of the maxims I live by is, never take your network for granted. Building a long-term, collaborative network is a daily activity that requires you to both consciously cultivate and nurture your existing relationships and develop new ones. In fact, the best time for you to work on maintaining the contacts you have and developing new resources is when you already have a job and are in a good place emotionally.
“I hate going to holiday parties,” my friend Miri complained.
“What don’t you like?” I asked.
“I’m not great at mingling, and I don’t like making small talk.”
“Anything else?”
“I get tired of telling people my life history and what I do for a living,” Miri replied.
Do you ever feel like this?
Take a moment and think back to the last time you did or said something out of anger or frustration. Something that, on reflection, you wish you hadn’t done.
It’s in those moments that each and every one of us needs to become acutely aware of our internal monitoring system. Think of it as your own personal feedback system, an internal gauge that signals it’s time to pause, breathe and think about what you are about to say or do.
