If we value something, we are intentional with it.
I love my Yeti! My Yeti keeps my cold drinks cold and my hot drinks hot! I paid extra for my Yeti. If I can’t find it, I will search my home, my truck, and retrace my steps in order to find out what happened to it. There are plenty of other options in my house for me to use, but I do not value them like I do my Yeti. The other options are disposable, like a red Solo Cup.
Many people treat relationships like they are Red Solo cups. They will use them when offered, and then leave them behind without a second thought. At the end of a party, there are often empty or half full Red Solo Cups scattered around. Nobody is connected to them, and they get discarded.
That doesn’t happen to a Yeti. If I leave a party without my Yeti, I will call the host and ask if my Yeti is there. I will track it down. Then I will drive back the next day and get it because it is valuable to me.
If we value something, we don’t leave it behind to be thrown away. We demonstrate its value by looking for it when it is not around. We are intentional with it. We care for it.
To build relationships of value at work and in life, we need to have a Yeti mentality about people not a Solo Cup mentality. It’s ironic that sometimes people will put more effort into staying in contact with their Yeti than they do the people with whom they should be building relationships.
Our character is on display with how we handle our relationships with people. What does that look like in practice?
Humility - We pay attention to them when we are with them.
Selflessness - We treat them like something we want long term, not as something we use and then move on.
Duty - If they go missing, we make an effort to find out where they are and how they are doing. We don't give up if they are hard to find. We pursue them and follow up, because we value them.
This may seem like a trite analogy to some people. But, how often do we treat the possessions in our lives with more value than the people? How often do we care more about the utility of a relationship in the short term than valuing the long term benefits of that relationship? How often have we let a relationship with someone fade because we lacked the intentionality it takes to maintain that relationship?
I know that Toby Keith sang: “Red Solo Cup, you fill me up….” but disposable relationships can not and will not do that for us in work or in life. The Yeti we love so much, should be the model we use for the people we meet in our lives. When we do that, our lives and the relationships in our lives will truly be the thing that fills us up.
Question:
● What relationships do you need to value more?
● How are you going to re-engage those people and show them they are not disposable?
Here is a quick assessment that will take you 5 minutes to figure it out. Nobody will ever see your results but you.
Warning: If you are not going to be honest with yourself this is a worthless assessment.
To take the assessment use the QR code above or go to www.MYCHARACTERTEST.com
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