Meet People Where They Are

 There has been a definite emphasis on boundaries. In the last few years a lot of people are setting boundaries and not doing things that they shouldn't be doing. This is a good thing and it helps protect people from harmful situations. However, it can go overboard and I'm seeing a trend where people are not having decency, or are being tribal in the name of boundaries.

You always have a decision how you interact with other people. If you feel what they are asking is too much, you can decline to engage. This can be a great idea and will protect you in some situations. If what you are being asked to do can cause physical harm, is illegal, is morally ambiguous, is over-stimulating, or is socially unacceptable, please don't do it.

However, if you are setting boundaries to make it easy for yourself or because you are simply being lazy, while this is your choice, you are only going to make it harder on yourself in the long run.

You need to meet people where they are.

You need to change your approach to get through to people. You need to change your approach to draw people in to your way of thinking. You need to be the difference maker in the interaction to get what you want now, and in the long term.

All this is contingent on people understanding delayed gratification. Doing the hard stuff now and everyday will one day make life a lot easier. It will make you indispensable and you will be able to command how things go because, you have their trust, you have their attention, and you have their answers. You have all this because you met them where they were. You have this because you made the first step easy and now they are on a journey that they like because of you. You have this now because you made the effort.

Effort, maybe that is the difference these days. Maybe the secret sauce is just keep trying. You don't have to be perfect, you just have to keep moving forward and putting out the effort. It will put you in a place to shape the world around you because you are meeting people where they are.

Success comes to those who do the work. The work is really just putting I the effort on a consistent basis. Being consistent is hard at times and getting out of your comfort zone is even harder but, if you consistently meet people where they are, you will be their hero and you will move them forward. Over time, this will all come back to you so many times over. It isn't a quick fix, it isn't revolutionary, it is really just a slow easy way to make a difference and get what you want.