Coaching Hint # 3
Incredibly, despite all my desperate whining, we are firmly in the midst of the holidays–I heard Whitney Houston’s version of The Little Drummer Boy, so the die is cast–and the holiday parties have begun. Note: I am not complaining. Being Jewrican, I will celebrate almost anything…invite me over! I love holiday parties, and I always learn something. One thing I recently learned is that I am apparently not 23 anymore, so if I drink um, “numerous” vodka cranberries…the next morning is ugly.
I remember living in Russia, right after college, and drinking bottles of vodka, and waking up the next morning at 6am, and going running, feeling no more than mild discomfort. Whereas now, after those drinks, I felt like Jodie Foster in Nell, trying to create a new language, in order to communicate with The Kitten, and get him to go to McDonalds for me and get me the fried foodstuffs I so desperately needed.(It didn’t work because a certain someone is very selfish.)
But, here’s my point: holiday parties are a perfect example of the benefits of taking care of your networks all year. You take care of your networks, and at the end of the year, they invite you to various holiday parties, wherein you can eat your weight in cookies, and give the bartender carpal tunnel syndrome. That is, of course, assuming that you have done the right thing by your networks: have you introduced people to other people who can potentially help them with a job or a date? Have you stayed in touch with people? Have you hit the “like” button on the (seemingly endless) photos of their kids on Facebook? Are you sending out holiday cards? You stay in touch with people in order to stay on their radar. It’s that simple. And also, because drinking at holiday parties is always better than drinking alone.