Ways To Become More Relevant
The tsunami of change is hitting everyone.
- Gen-Y unemployment is approaching a staggering 25 percent.
- Gen-X is "on track to be the first generation to do worse in retirement than their parents."
- Baby boomers are more likely to remain unemployed if they lose their jobs.
Everyone seems lost and un-moored in a world where promises of the past - a stable job, a clear career path, a comfortable retirement - a "secure" and "loving" relationship, have become impossible dreams.
Not everyone, however, is caught in this miasma of helplessness.
Many men and women - regardless of their age - are rising to the occasion, creating and renewing their role in a shifting world and their relationships.
They understand that to leave things to luck, chance, hope and wishing is setting yourself for failure and unhappiness.
And this includes personal relationships!
Their secret?
They have figured out how to be relevant.
Be More Empathetic
Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings (such as sadness or happiness) being experienced by another being.
It is the source of compassion, caring for other people, and the desire to help.
It means the ability to experience the same emotions that another is feeling, without unnecessary judgement.
Empathy creates relevance because it creates the deep connection that brings people together.
In relationships, there are three levels of empathy.
The first is "on-demand" empathy, which is the ability to sense what partners want.
The second is "solution" empathy, which entails understanding a partners problem and figuring out how to address it.
The third is "transcendent" empathy where you create solutions to problems that partners do not even know that they have.
Take More Action
It is your actions, ultimately, that make you relevant to others.
All the authenticity, mastery and empathy in the world remain sterile, and useless until put into motion.
It is through action that you change yourself and change the world.
Without action, even a great and brilliant mind remains entirely irrelevant.
Action has four elements: impetus, vector, acceleration and velocity.
Impetus determines whether you consider the action important enough to take.
Vector is the direction your action takes you: either towards your goals or away from it.
Acceleration reflect your level of commitment and how much action you are willing to take.
Velocity is the energy that carries you forward, even when you are not fully aware of it.
The reality is that "relationships" have become more sophisticated and complex in this modern chaotic world.
And if you want to enjoy, fulfilling, loving, enjoyable and lasting relationships.
You got to know what you are doing, be deeply aware of yourself and others.
And be "relevant!"
Ange Fonce
