Consciously or not, we spend a good part of our lives trying to find our sense of relevance. Mark Twain perhaps said it best when he commented that “the two most important days in a person's life is the day you were born and the day you find out why.” Finding one’s relevance can be a challenge because so many folks are looking for it from other people. However, placing your relevance in the hands of others is like chasing a mirage. Frankly, it is far better to define your own measurement of relevance. And two words that go a long way to defining your relevance are authenticity and empathy. With all of the pressures around us, including worrying about others making us feel irrelevant, it’s easy to lose track of these words. But putting these couple of words into action is, ultimately, the core of your relevance. When interacting with others, especially for the first time, consider working towards adjusting the dialogue from trying to explain to people what you do and ensuring it sounds relevant to just connecting with folks. You will notice immediately there is a big difference between speaking to connect and speaking to be relevant.
One more thought on the matter. A woman went every day to a stream to fill two buckets with water One of the buckets leaked a little as she walked back to her village. One day, the perforated bucket said to the lady that it was sorry for leaking and would understand if she decided to have the bucket replaced. The lady retorted “Did you not think I knew you had a leak. Look at all the beautiful flowers that grow on the path I take to the creek. I might be planting the seeds, but it is you who is doing the watering.” In the end, your relevance has everything to do with how you judge the crack in your own bucket. Perhaps it is well worth choosing to see the flowers in that crack. Welcome to “genuine and authentic.”
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