Building a Support Team

In business networking and teams are very important. It is accepted (and true) that the more support you can garner the more successful you will be.

But in our personal lives we often ignore that reality and surround ourselves with people who are not only unsupportive but may even actively hinder our progress.

Why do we do that?

I think part of the reason is that we take our business lives more seriously than our personal lives. In business the object is to get to the next level of achievement and to better ourselves. The reward is more status, a better position, and of course more money. These things are important to most people and it makes sense that they spend a lot of time and effort learning how to achieve them. And it makes sense that you can be a bit less personal, making decisions based on your goals and the bottom line rather than emotions and personal feelings.

But at home the scene changes completely. Your friends and family are close to you and it is personal and you can’t just blow them off if they aren’t supportive. And because of all the time and energy spent on business, most people simply don’t take their personal lives quite as seriously.

But the thing is….you need to have support in your personal life too. In fact it’s even more critical than in business because personal support (or lack thereof) can make or break you. And I’m not just talking about the bottom line here either. Lack of support in your personal life can wear you down emotionally and physically, crush your dreams and break your spirit. Over time it can literally kill you.

See how important it is to have a personal support team!

Ok having said all that, here are a few tips to start building that team today:

Ask the Universe to bring supportive people into your life. This is so important (and so overlooked). You can ask for supportive people in general or for support in a specific area. The important thing is ASK!
Understand that sometimes the people who are closest to you simply aren’t supportive. Not everyone has it in them to support your dreams. Let it go and find people who are. Stop talking to those people about certain subjects if all they do is put you down. You can still love them and have them in your life – just not as part of your support team.
Don’t expect any one person to provide support in all areas of your life. It’s ok to have one friend you talk to about certain things and another you talk to about other things. It’s ok to get support from your family members in some areas but not others. Learn the strengths and weaknesses of the people in your life and you’ll know who to rely on for what.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. This goes with the last one but another problem with relying on one person for total support is that not everyone is around forever. As much as we hate to admit it, relationships do end; people do die and otherwise leave your life. A support team made up of several (or many) individuals will help you fill the gap if one person is no longer in your life.
Be a supportive person yourself. Just as you seek support from others, give it in return. It may be in different areas or with different people but the important thing is to give as you receive. Then the circle of support becomes complete.

By following these guidelines you’ll be well on your way to building a support team, and your own life will improve dramatically as a result!

In business networking and teams are very important. It is accepted (and true) that the more support you can garner the more successful you will be.

But in our personal lives we often ignore that reality and surround ourselves with people who are not only unsupportive but may even actively hinder our progress.

Why do we do that?

I think part of the reason is that we take our business lives more seriously than our personal lives. In business the object is to get to the next level of achievement and to better ourselves. And the reward is more status, a better position, and of course more money. These things are important to most people and it makes sense that they spend a lot of time and effort learning how to achieve them.

Also, business is a bit less personal to most people. It’s easier to make hard decisions based on meeting certain goals or moving up the ladder because you can do it in the name of “business” and though some people may get miffed it’s not like you live with them, right?

But the thing is….you need to have support in your personal life too. In fact it’s even more critical than in business because personal support (or lack thereof) can make or break you. And I”m not just talking about the bottom line here either. Lack of support in your personal life can wear you down emotionally and physcically, crush your dreams and break your spirit. Over time it can literally kill you.

So it’s important to have a support team.