The Importance of Community
Updated: Feb 20, 2020
As a little girl my grandfather and older brother used to assign me various tasks and chores. When I could not finish a task because I encountered some difficulty, I would return to my grandfather or brother and tell them that I was unable to finish the task. My grandfather used to respond to me by saying “I never ask you to do anything that I know you cant do. Perhaps if you were to ask me some questions I could clarify the tasks so you can understand it better and complete it”. My mother would say “Erase that word “cant” from your vocabulary, dont ever use it when speaking to me”. My brother always said “I dont mind that you know the problem that you have encountered but what I want you to do is to come to me with a set of solutions for those problems.”
At the end of the day, I learnt that I needed to ask the right questions of the right persons if I was going to be able to complete any tasks successfully.
Throughout the years this principle of asking the right question of the right person have helped me to build confidence and to complete tasks successfully. There are times in life when it is difficult to determine what the right question for a particular problem is. Sometimes even when you know the right questions, you don't know the right person to ask. These are the realities of adult life. Our grandfathers, mothers or brothers may not be around all the time but if we surround ourselves with support systems, we will always have people to help us solve our problems. It's not just that we get our problems solved because communities are reciprocal. When we are in community we have the opportunity to help others solve their problems too. Being in a caring and competent community is crucial to success.
Without an effective community, we are not likely to succeed.
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