💭 What I’m thinking about

I recently listened to Brené Brown’s interview with the Gottman’s regarding their latest book, The Love Perscription.

One of the main TLDR’s for me was that when you know what someone needs or wants, it’s easier to give that to them. No one is a mind reader and we need to communicate our expectations so they’re not stealthy.

While I think this is certainly true in romantic relationships, I don’t see why it doesn’t apply to all the relationships we encounter on a day-to-day basis.

Recently, a friend of mine shared a career pivot she’s looking to make and asked if I had any connections or resources she could share. In the following days, multiple things popped up in my universe that I quickly passed on to her, in hopes of being helpful.

Had she never communicated her needs or wants, I’d never be able to (hopefully) help her.

As I think about this further, I think this relates to one of the most common misconceptions when it comes to “networking.” I don’t love the term networking, but in my career experience, the most rewarding roles have come out of me being honest about what I needed and wanted from a job, mixed with what I could offer someone.

Networking to find your next role isn’t just about selling yourself and it’s not just about telling someone you need a job. In my opinion, good networking is being vulnerable and brave all wrapped up into one.

🤔 A question for you

What’s the hardest area of your life to communicate what you need?

💖 Something a lil fun

My mom (hi mom!) and I were talking about cooking the other night and she mentioned how she’s trying to get better at being creative and spontaneous in the kitchen and with her cooking. 👩‍🍳 🥘 ✨

I loved that approach to incorporating more spontaneity into an aspect of her life, and am thinking about how taking a bucket of my life and sprinkling in some spontaneity might be more effective than just shouting into the void “I NEED TO BE MORE SPONTANEOUS.” 🙃

🎵 A song for you

I was recently reminded of my love for the snow sports documentary, The Art of Flight, and the beauty of it’s soundtrack. Here’s a great track to put on while getting into some deep focus work.

And here’s the playlist.

What do you need today? Tell someone.

Zoë

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