How Is Your Relationship Crop Doing? The farming that counts!
I guess there is truth to the old saying, “You can take the boy from the farm, but you can’t take the farm from the boy.”
Oh, sure, we finish a few natural grass-fed beef animals each year, we raise a few hens for our own eggs, and we grow a big garden for our own enjoyment, but we’re not really farmers anymore.
But I’m a farmer at heart. I have a great interest in the soil, plants, animals, and wee critters we depend on for our high-quality air, water, and food. I have great interest in new production technologies and ideas. I have huge passion for resource management and sustainability in our fragile environment. I even like to get cow shi…on my boots now and then.
So, I still read agricultural magazines and papers and there are always some gems within those pages that apply directly to my specialty – relationships.
In the last Grainnews, a researcher said, “If you can see the plant is stressed, it’s likely already cost you yield and quality.”
In other words, if Farmer Bob wakes up one morning and says, “That crop doesn’t look very good. I don’t know what happened. I planted good seeds, and then let nature do its thing.” The effect of not paying attention to the quality and quantity of soil nutrients throughout the growing season means he’s not going to have the “jingle in his jeans” that he’d hoped for.
You may be thinking, “Dan, what the heck does that have to do with relationships?”
Bear with me. There is a point to this.
If you think about it, we’re all relationship farmers. Yup, you too. Your relationships determine what you harvest – personally and professionally. You and I are totally responsible for the quality and quantity of seeds we plant and for the quality, quantity, and timing of the nutrients and care we give our relationships. Thus, you and I are responsible for the quality and quantity of the harvest.
I’m just guessing, but I believe you’re like me in some ways. In fact, I’d bet 3 brown hens and a big zucchini that you’d like your relationships to yield you an abundant harvest of happiness, peace of mind, and financial success.
If that’s so, now is the perfect time to pay attention to the quality of the nutrients and care you are giving your relationship crops.
If you notice a relationship that is stressed, it is already affecting the quality of what you’ll yield from that relationship. You can’t go back in time and change anything, but you can pay attention to it now and ensure that it continues to grow in a healthy way.
And if you have a relationship that is excellent, now is the perfect time to pay attention to it and give it the proper nutrients to ensure it gets even better.
Here’s my challenge for you, should you choose to accept it:
Right now, think about one important relationship in your life that is a bit stressed – your life-partner, a child, a colleague, a customer, or friend. Within the next 24 hours, pay attention to that relationship crop and give it some of the proper nutrients to ensure it thrives, or at least doesn’t get more stressed.
Examples:
– a hug
– genuine words of praise
– please and thank you
– ask about his/her day and listen attentively – just LISTEN
– offer to help
– apologize powerfully
– give extra value, with no strings attached
– edify the person in front of others
– make a referral, etc.
Pay attention to what you think, say, and do.
A Hawaiian Shaman once said, “For every experience in life, we pay a price – we pay attention; or we pay in pain.”
What are you going to do now, and keep doing, to pay attention to your relationship crop and eliminate or reduce the stress and pain?
Excuse me now; I’ve got some shi… to spread. What I mean is that I’ve got some exceptional nutrients to give to my relationship crops. And I’m looking forward to a bountiful harvest.
What about you?
