Is it Time for a Network Refresh?

When did you last stop to consider who you spend most of your time with? It’s generally understood that the people we spend the most time with can seriously impact how we show up in life.

I had the good fortune to have two truly joyful experiences on the same day recently and it reminded me of how important it is to be in the presence of people who uplift you, or who share your interests, and for me this is especially true if we happen to share a passion for personal growth.

It started with a coffee meeting with someone I hadn’t met in person for over 10 years. They had reached out to me on LinkedIn, where apparently my name had somehow popped up in their feed (was this the Law of Attraction at work?) and they invited me to connect for coffee or lunch. Something told me to accept this invitation and I’m so glad I did. We had a delightful afternoon tea where we caught up on our news and got to know one another on a deeper level. I’m always uplifted when I meet others who are living their purpose and truly enjoying their life and this was certainly the case with my coffee date. Even better, after we’d spend time re-connecting and discovering common beliefs and values, she declared that she wanted to introduce me to a friend for whom she thought I would be the ideal coach. What a wonderful and unexpected outcome from this coffee date.

Even better, in the evening of that same day, I hosted a community meetup for people who have invested in my What’s Important to Me Now? online course. These events are held twice a month and create a space to meet others who are committed to living a life more aligned with their personal priorities. In each session, we start with a lesson, this event was focused on finding motivation to follow through and take action aligned with your top priorities. After the lesson, participants shared their thoughts on what they heard and personal experiences related to finding motivation. We ended up with a host of resources, including links to relevant books, a playlist, a Ted Talk and more. These community events always leave me feeling uplifted and if this sounds interesting to you and you’re ready to set some meaningful goals for yourself, consider investing in the What’s Important to me Now? online course and join our community.

Studies have shown that having a meaningful and active group of people with whom we interact on a regular basis is good for our overall wellbeing. Isolation is unhealthy and yet, after COVID many people lost their confidence in their ability to connect with others.

If that sounds like you, commit to taking action to do something about it. Follow these steps to build a meaningful network of your own:

• Conduct a network audit – list all the places you connect with others, both in-person and virtually
• List the people in your life and your network that you spend most time connecting with
• Ask yourself on a scale of 1 – 10 how you feel after spending time with each of these people where 1 is drained of energy and 10 is energised and uplifted.
• Analyse the results and ask yourself what might need to change. If you’re lacking positively energizing people in your life, you may need to reduce the time you spend with energy drainers (even if you’ve known them for years and consider them good friends) to make way for new connections.
• Define a profile of the ideal person or people you’d like to attract into your circle
• Make a plan to seek out these people by expanding your network.

TIP - look for people you’d like to connect with, invite them to connect in person or online and ask them where they go to meet like minded people. If you’re on LinkedIn, look at the groups that they’re part of – they could be a good fit for you

• Set some measurable goals for growing or editing your network to make it more aligned with your personal goals and what uplifts you e.g. Within the next 6 months, I will add 2 new people to my network whose energy I enjoy and I’ll spend less time with at least one person who doesn’t uplift me.

Are Your Personal Goals Fuzzy?

It’s hard to create a fulfilled life if you’re not clear on your priorities. Taking time to pause and clarify what’s most important to you, is a worthwhile exercise at any point in your life. It’s especially true for anyone dealing with a life or career transition. Consider investing in the What's Important to Me NOW  online course and join our community to help you stay motivated, uplifted and on track to achieving your goals. 

Uncomfortable with Networking?

I understand - that was me, a decade ago before I discovered that networking is a skill that can be learned. Since then, I’ve learned to love it and I’ve put everything I’ve learned into an online course, Networking for Success  so you don’t have to take years to master this skill. Take the course and join the community and you might just find you can learn to love networking like me. 

Live Your Most Fulfilled Life

I hope I’ve motivated you to pause and take time to conduct a network audit. Building an active group of meaningful connections is an important component of living a fulfilled life. If you’d like more personalised support to help you clarify your values, strengths and your purpose, invest in a Clarity Coaching Call to see if inviting me to be your coach could be right for you.