Over dinner with some entrepreneurs last night, we spoke about how crazy our lives become sometimes. Our work has a tendency to absorb us so completely that we can go for weeks even months at a stretch without making contact with anyone else outside our work circle. I guess the same rationale can be applied to stressful jobs that are heavily time consuming. The topic gravitated towards a hard reality, our relationships with family and friends tend to get strained during this high intensity period, which often has the potential to stretch over a long period of time. We find ourselves completely detached, and lose perspective of the really important factors in our life. I have linked to the ‘Jar story’ a couple of times in prior posts, I don’t think we can read that story enough!
One of the things I am slowly discovering on my journey as an entrepreneur is, that you have to keep ties with your friends and family in place, they provide you with a ground reality check about the direction your life is taking. This inner circle will ultimately provide you with a needed level of satisfaction and a sense of achievement when you finally reach your goals and objectives. Striking out on one’s own and making it to the top of the mountain is something I have seen many people achieve. However, most of them feel the one thing they would have done differently on their way up would have been to have the important people in their lives a lot closer to them.
During our conversation last night, it was clearly apparent that many people on the table, myself included, have been neglecting to understand the importance of family and friends. I think it is quite common in today’s nuclear family age where we tend to become increasingly isolated from the very beginning, when we are taught to look out for ourselves and not be dependent on anyone. This often manifests itself into more severe conditions as we grow older. To handle this issue I have started sending out gratitude notes on a regular basis, this has helped bring me closer to those I choose to be so with. In the end it does come down to personal preferences and priorities. I tend to believe , based on what I have heard and read, that losing out on developing a strong inner circle does critically handicap you at a later stage in life.
What are your opinions on inner circles? How do you make your inner circle stronger? Would like to hear your feedback and suggestions.