wellpdx

Patience has never been a strong suit with me. Thankfully, Fall has brought so many things to the table that I'm not spending any time drumming my fingers on the table, waiting for movement.

This week I've really begun to understand just how broad and deep the wellness community is - and how hard it is to connect with most practitioners if you're not a patient or client. Priorities are a necessity, of course, and I take no issue with patients coming first. But I am beginning to worry that practitioners are putting professional relationships on the back burner and then forgetting about them almost entirely. Or worse, they are maintaining those relationships at a high cost to themselves (time, effort, coordination) and then are not using the relationships in a productive way.

Clearly, collegial support is a necessity, but if you establish a professional relationship (as opposed to really becoming friends with someone) shouldn't it also serve your business in a larger way at some point? Obviously, I don't mean that all relationships need to be monetized, but they should absolutely be leveraged in a measurable way, I think. Whether it's recognizing a colleague as someone who will help to hold you accountable to one of your goals, or is someone who will introduce you to the business owner you've been meaning to get in touch with, formalizing the relationship can go a long way in actually maintaining that connection.

I have certainly experienced meeting and talking with a colleague who I liked and then not connecting again for a year or two and wondering why not. Helping each other complete simple tasks or achieve simple goals is a great tool to keep in touch and to make the connection both useful and enjoyable. At the very least, it's a great way to feel more genuinely connected to the community and expand your circle without Herculean efforts.