As iron sharpens iron…so one person sharpens another

In workshops, I’ve been delivering sessions on stress management, building stronger team relationships, and coaching on how to solve conflicts via zoom mediation, yikes!

It set off my thinking on relationships and how we are constantly molded by the people we choose to have in our lives and also those we may or may not have chosen to work with.

This pandemic has thrown up a lot in terms of relationship dynamic changes for me with some friendships coming to a necessary end and others blossoming out of nowhere.

Finding both personal and professional confidantes I didn’t even know I needed and wonder how we may have met had it not been for random Zoom meetups.

It’s certainly shaping my approaches to life and attitudes I was happy to drop. That’s the magic of some relationships, the growth, but it’s not always the way.

I love the work by David Whyte and this week’s activities reminded me of this quote:

"We shape our self?to fit this world and by?the world are shaped again"

Sometimes we can get rubbed the wrong way, misinterpret others and became negatively triggered, and feel unable to connect with people we really want to because we can’t find the words.

What is the health of your relationships in your life and at work? How are they shaping your wellbeing for better or worse?

Relationships are valuable ways of showing you who you are. They are there necessary?to:

• Shape and sculpt you like a diamond
• Act as a MIRROR highlighting behaviour you need to?address, change, or welcome
• Provide the space for curiosity, adventure, and learning of someone other than yourself

It’s important to ask, who am I becoming by the people I surround myself with??

Who is reinforcing bad behavior/habits or challenging you to be stronger or better?

Which relationships at work have sustained the test of remote working and minimal trips to the pub together? How do you express gratitude for these?

Where do you feel slight trepidation about returning to the office for fear of microaggressions from others?

When you think about your interactions with your co-workers or team over the last week, how have you been shaped by them? I know I’ve been marked in a positive way by what I’ve heard in my sessions and it’s left me contemplating how much we leave left unsaid that could boost the health of the relationships if we only had the courage. Also, the need for us to find our voice to speak up when we need to if we feel our boundaries are being overstepped.

So here’s to another week in the world of your relationships, savour them, be open, curious, honest, and continue to be present to how you are being shaped.