Wisdom Of The Rooms - 2021

[bluidkiti]

December 6

Quote of the Week

"If you don’t like what you hear at a meeting, then say what you need to hear."

At a question-and-answer meeting I attend, I often hear people comment that they either don’t enjoy meetings or don’t think a particular meeting gives them what they need. “It’s always the same people saying the same things,” they complain. In response, another member shared this quote and suggested they participate and “say what they needed to hear.”

In itself this is great advice, but it also addresses a fundamental issue—being of service. So many people (myself included) go to meetings to get something from them and to feel better afterward. And most of the time we do. However, sometimes we may forget that meetings are also a perfect place for us to be of service. Often what we gain from a meeting is in direct proportion to what we contribute to it.

These days, whenever I’m feeling annoyed or disinterested at a meeting, I ask myself what I’m doing to add to it. Am I cleaning up, or reaching out to a newcomer, or contributing something useful? Looking for what I can add works so well that I now do this at work, at home, and even at the market. Service truly is the answer in my life today. The best part is that there is always, everywhere, an opportunity for me to be useful and to contribute.