this morning i went through my usual routine of thinking about what i could do to positively impact some of the most important relationships in my life.  the thinking behind this routine is: if i wake up thinking about how to improve the lives of those that matter to me and they wake up thinking the same (how they can improve my life) than my life should be full of strong, positive, reinforcing and supportive relationships.  if i have relationships that do not function in this manner, perhaps it’s a relationship (girlfriend, employer, etc) I don’t need.  interestingly enough, today i realized that my answer to what i could do to positively impact those who matter to me differs based on my starting point.

when i started thinking about the standing of the relationships and what I could do to improve that standing, i was satisfied.  i currently believe I am in good standing with many of the relationships in my life; consequently i couldn’t think of much to add.  however, when i started by thinking about the person first and what they might need today (the usual routine), my “to do” list got much longer.

the point? sometimes we settle with okay, but for the most important relationships in our life, okay shouldn’t be enough.  marketers do it all of the time. one group is currently shopping with them so they ignore them and move on to the next because “everything is okay” with their original audience.  people do it too. after all, why push harder when our boss, our partner, our children are happy with what we are doing, right?  wrong!  there are always opportunities to “surprise & delight” or bring value to other people in a way that will make their life better and  those that do will earn a different kind of respect, loyalty (heart loyalty), and love that cannot be challenged, duplicated, or forgotten.  if you’re having trouble finding ways to do this…pick a different starting point.

related post:

1. whose lovemark are you?

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