If it sounds like I am saying that to reassure myself, there may be an element of truth to that! Sometimes I think we are at risk of being way too mired in administering what we do instead of keeping it simple and just doing what we love.
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I am a great believer in being mindful of our Four-Way Test as a personal compass:
- Is it the truth?
- Is it fair to all concerned?
- Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
- Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Perhaps we should add a fifth? Will it be fun?
Giving service to others is WHY we joined Rotary and that is what gives us joy – let’s not forget that! A meeting focused on actually doing a service project is way more rewarding than a meeting to talk about it.
Throughout my professional and volunteering life, I have always questioned WHY? Why are we doing what we are doing? What purpose is it serving?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the working world and the volunteer sector were forced to embrace technology in a way we had never done before, even though it had been available to us for many years!
But, it can also detract from our basic human need to connect, interact, work along-side each other and laugh together.”
It has been a gift in so many ways: accelerating much needed change, bringing us out from behind closed doors, offering greater inclusivity and giving us back precious time previously spent travelling.
But, it can also detract from our basic human need to connect, interact, work along side each other and laugh together.
As we deal with the ongoing pandemic and isolation that it can often lead to, let us embrace the best of what technology offers and question the rest. In fact, let us always question how we can work smarter, not harder.
I have come to love the phrase ‘Rotary Rocks’. For starters, it really does rock the world thanks to all of the amazing work that all of our Rotarians do throughout each year. We have been doing that now for 117 years as of our birthday on February 23rd, 2022!
I have come to love the phrase ‘Rotary Rocks’.”
I am also a huge fan of the late Stephen Covey’s third of seven habits of highly effective people: “First Things First” – what he fondly referred to as Big Rocks!
“Putting first things first means organising and executing around your most important priorities. It is living and being driven by the principles you value most, not by the agendas and forces surrounding you.”
In Rotary, our real work is to ‘Serve to Change Lives’. In building forward better, fairer and greener – what should we be doing more of and what should we not be doing at all?
Let’s keep our focus on Rotary Rocks!
