Human relationships are important. It’s obvious, right? Perhaps, but if it is obvious it’s something people don’t seem to discuss or care about much. There is a clear fixation on romantic relationships, which is no surprise, but it’s also important to foster your friendships and relationships within your communities. Whether it’s a group of people connected by common values, or the people you live near and have to rely on, community is important. Neglecting it is easy, but if you take the time to foster those relationships you’ll see some amazing results. Without further ado, let’s get into the benefits of being in an active community.
It Challenges You To Keep Growing
A good community will challenge you to keep growing. This may be professionally, but it may also be in more personal and emotional ways. The point is, when you surround yourself with good people, they will push you to be good too. Likewise, if you surround yourself with successful people, they will push you and help you become successful as well. So, surround yourself with the type of people you want to be more like, and you’ll find yourself in a great, rewarding community.
You Have Help When You Need It
Another great thing about a good community is that they’re here for you. Maybe you’re injured and need some basic help with some errands. Perhaps you need help moving. Or perhaps you’re trying to better yourself and learn new things but are all on your own. In that case, hopefully you’ll be able to reach out to someone in your community for help. For example, I’m constantly teaching each other people new skills and getting helped in turn when needed. It’s all about give and take!
There Are People Willing To Provide Emotional Support – Which Definitely Matters!
Sometimes you just need someone to be there. Someone you can talk to. It’s even better if you have a group of people you can talk to and open up with! It’s okay to lean on one another sometimes, and it’s perfectly normal. After all, we’re just human. None of us is perfect, and we all fall on hard times. So, make sure your community is one that will support you during those hard times.
It’s of no help to you if you’re abandoned as soon as you need support. Unfortunately, a lot of people like to take help, but don’t want to be there for you when you need it. Making sure the community you put yourself in is a good one is just as important as making the effort to join a worthwhile community to begin with.
You Have Room To Excel And Help Others
Like I just said, a lot of people don’t like giving back. Well, when you’re in a community at some point you’ll have a great opportunity to help out. Everyone has their own skills and abilities they bring to the table, and using them to aid your community is great! Enjoy the things you excel at, and make use of those skills to help others out. Maybe you can tutor them, help with handiwork, spend time volunteering, or any other myriad of activities. The point is that you can be a rock star in your own right, and you can help others out along the way.
Improve Your Soft Skills
Here at Bitter to Better we’re definitely recognize the importance of soft skills. For example, if you want to improve your communication skills, then check out these articles on reading, writing, and public speaking. All three of which teach you a lot and make you a more self-sufficient person. If you’ve practiced those things, you can take them even further within your community and expand your soft skillset. If you find yourself lacking in your communication skills, you can also use the community as a testing ground to help you learn and grow. A good community will encourage that and foster that attitude and growth.
Strength In Numbers
Alone we’re weak, frail, and not at our best. Together, when we are united, we are strong and can overcome large hurdles and achieve heights we may not have thought possible. As a general rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to surround yourself with strong friends and a strong community. That way, when you stand together, you end up being more than the sum of your parts. There is a short, old children’s tale that explains this very well.
The Bundle Of Sticks
A certain Father had a family of Sons, who were forever quarreling among themselves. No words he could say did the least good, so he cast about in his mind for some very striking example that should make them see that discord would lead them to misfortune.
One day when the quarreling had been much more violent than usual and each of the Sons was moping in a surly manner, he asked one of them to bring him a bundle of sticks. Then handing the bundle to each of his Sons in turn he told them to try to break it. But although each one tried his best, none was able to do so.
The Father then untied the bundle and gave the sticks to his Sons to break one by one. This they did very easily.
“My Sons,” said the Father, “do you not see how certain it is that if you agree with each other and help each other, it will be impossible for your enemies to injure you? But if you are divided among yourselves, you will be no stronger than a single stick in that bundle.”
You Make Connections That Will Help You Succeed
Needless to say, networking is incredibly important these days. When you connect with people in your local community, as well as online or in international communities, you are connecting with a ton of people who can assist you (or people you can assist) later on in life. Treat others with respect, do your best to form good relationships, and you’ll be surprised at the people you’ll end up knowing along the way.
The Bitter To Richer Community
Bitter to Better is more than just a run of the mill blog. It’s a community. Here it’s all about trying to share everything we’ve learned already, some of which we’ve had to learn the hard way. We are also trying to connect people with other like-minded and hard-working professionals around the world. We want to build a community that can truly exchange ideas and help each other grow. If that’s something you’re interested, take the plunge and get active in the community!
If you’re still skeptical, sign up for the newsletter or engage with people by commenting on each blog post. I try to do my best to reply to questions and conversations, as I’m serious about building a community together that can really make an impact. So, if you’re an up-and-comer, have big goals, work hard, and really love creating or making a lasting impact – you’re not alone. There are tons of us out there!
Conclusion
Hopefully you enjoyed this take on some of the reasons communities are so important. If you have any thoughts on communities, or want to share some of your own stories, be sure to leave a comment!
