Who Would You Have In Your Team of Helpers?

Being the start of 2016, I will assume many of us will have visions, dreams, goals or plans for this year or beyond in which we would like to succeed in. I will also assume that we will all be at different stages in our pursuit of realising our visions, dreams, goals or plans. However, regardless of the stage you currently are in achieving your plan, it is also good to pause for a while and contemplate who we have around us or who we need around us to help us on our way.

As well as dedication, hard work and good decisions, success involves a collection and network of relationships. God did not created us to go through life alone. Whether we believe in Him or not, we interact with people and some of those people help us along the way in one shape or form, even those who are difficult towards us, they help us to grow and become stronger. So while we may not actively go and look for difficult or negative people to join our team, we should always remember that we need to learn from them too.

I received a list of ‘destiny triggers’ over the new year, which I appreciated and therefore gained permission to use in my blog. However the more I thought about the list, the more I realised that they are actually a list of character traits that are deemed beneficial and therefore needed to help us to achieve our dreams and plans. I have amended this list in an attempt to simplify it. It is worth noting that this list is not exhaustive. Also bear in mind that one person may have more than one of these traits and will therefore be a ‘helper’ to you in several ways.

1. ENCOURAGERS - even in discouraging situations, these people keep you going with encouraging words.

2. HAND LIFTERS - They are those whose hands are strong enough to hold yours up when you are weak to help you to keep going. They will recognise when you are tiring, step up beside you and help you win the ‘battle’.

3. GIVERS - These ones will give in different ways. It may be their time, talent or money to help you along the way.

4. PRAYING PEOPLE – Every prayer helps. You can never pray too many prayers or have too many people praying for you.

5. RECOMMENDERS - these are the ones who mention your name in quarters where your skills and talents will be celebrated.

6. COMMITTED ONES - Whether things are up or down, these ones are standing with you to see your project through. A committed person is a reliable person.

7. LOYAL ONES– These are slightly different from The Committed as these are people that will be loyal to you (not just your project) and will work with you wholeheartedly to make things work in your life. These people are usually altruistic in nature.

8. TRUTH-TELLERS - They will not pretend; they will honestly tell you when you are wrong. They will correct you.

9. MENTOR – I know, I know, this is not a character trait, however a mentor is strongly recommended and a good mentor would in fact have most, if not all the above character traits. This is not to say you should just have one person in your team.

On the flip side, when selecting our helpers, team, business partners etc, there are some people who display negative character traits that should be avoided. However, as stated earlier in the blog, we will always encounter people with difficult or negative character traits and we should remember they are opportunities for us to be challenged and become better people ourselves.

Again, this list is not exhaustive.

THE EXECUTIVE LIAR – This type of person considers bending the truth to be very different to lying and will do just that to get what they want. When they get caught out, they will tell you simply “it is business”. They are the type that desire a fast track route to everywhere in life – up the corporate ladder, achieving dreams, buying that house etc and will lie their way to get their gain.

THE SELFIE – These people talk constantly about themselves, their achievements and themselves some more. In meetings, these people will not really listen to you, but will find a way each time to steer the conversation to something that relates to them. You usually leave the meeting knowing more about their achievements, leadership qualities, skills, family and life story than you ever wanted to know. Incidentally, the meeting should have been about your dream.

COMPLAINERS – People who constantly complain but never do anything about any of their complaints. They usually do not progress as they cannot see past their complaints. Instead, they will find something new to complain about when you meet them again.

BAD MOUTHERS/BACK STABBERS – Stay well clear of these type of people. If they talk badly about others, they will do the same to you and can potentially ruin your reputation even before you have started your journey towards achieving your goals.

TIME WASTERS – These are people that place no value on time. They waste their time and would not hesitate to waste yours. These are usually procrastinators and live life as if they have time stored up in a bank somewhere.

I hope you have found this blog useful and it has got you thinking about who you have around you – who you need and do not need.

Please feel free to share some of your own thoughts on other helpful or unhelpful type of characteristics or people. Alternatively, you may simply comment/share your experiences or points below.

Have a Happy New Year achieving or working towards accomplishing your dreams, goals or plans.