Are You Prepared to Get Real?

Faithful on the Clock is a podcast with the mission of getting your work and faith aligned. We want you to understand Who you're serving and why so you can get more joy and legacy from every minute spent on the clock. Thanks for joining us and taking this step toward a more fulfilling job and relationship with God!Want to join us on social media? We'd love to have you stay up-to-date with the show on all our platforms!TwitterFacebookPinterestInstagramLinkedInYouTubeIn this episode...Are You Prepared to Get Real? https://faithfulontheclock.com/are-you-prepared-to-get-real Being “real” or authentic is a huge talking point in most offices today. But are we really ready for people to share who they really are or what they actually need? Episode 46 of Faithful on the Clock explores. Timestamps:[00:05] - Intro[00:38] - Episode background, invitation to revisit past several episodes for context[01:06] - We tend not to talk about what happens if we’re thrown off by someone’s realness. We might not be ready to deal with authenticity well, and we tend to not talk about deeper issues.[01:58] - We might not be well prepared because we still question work-personal boundaries, and because we are not sure if we should help given we are not trained the way professional therapists are.[03:11] - Not responding well to authenticity carries risks, such as making the person feel like they aren’t truly heard.[04:00] - We are obligated to prepare ourselves for authenticity. We must face ourselves if we want to face others.[04:38] - Accepting that God already knows everything is a big component of inner work that helps in preparing to accept realness from others. God wants you to be real with Him 24/7, so much so that He sacrificed His only son.[06:16] - Once you know God knows everything, pay it forward under the commandment to love your neighbor.[06:50] - Trusting God to help is part of loving your neighbor; He’ll help you find the right techniques and words. The most important thing is to create a sense of welcome or invitation. Questions are a powerful tool for this.[08:09] - Time is the biggest barrier to accepting realness, because we are conditioned in the corporate space that everything must be fast and competitive. People who really are ideal to work with will understand you taking care of your people, so it’s not as inconvenient as you might think.[10:01] - Look at your company’s structure and aim for flexibility that lets people deal with real life and emotionally breathe. People should have strong communication networks where they know where to go and feel comfortable reaching out to anyone.[11:20] - Because everyone can get tired from supporting others, it’s critical to ensure that proper mental health and self-care resources are in place. This will let people take appropriate breaks and get advice.[12:15] - Prayer[12:58] - Outro/What’s coming up nextKey takeaways:The big question around being “real” is whether we’re prepared to respond well when people try to be honest. We’re programmed to respond more automatically or superficially. People generally might not be sure of where to draw boundaries when they try to be real or handle others who are trying to be. The ideas of work-home separation and leaving tough stuff to professionals both can make us hesitate or be uncertain about what to do.Poor response to someone being real can make them feel like they aren’t heard and reinforce stigmas about opening up.If want we to promote the idea of being open, then we have an obligation to prepare ourselves to accept people as they are. This includes learning to face ourselves.Facing ourselves starts with understanding that God already knows all about us and still forgives us, to the extent that He sacrificed His Son to ensure we’d have no barriers.Once you’ve faced yourself through God, the next step is to pay it forward and apply the second commandment to your neighbor. It’s applying the same forgiveness and empathy  God gives to those around you.You might not know exactly what someone needs, but you can trust God to guide you. How you help will be different for everyone, but creating a sense of invitation and welcome is important. Questions are a powerful way of doing that. Your biggest barrier to responding well to someone trying to be real is time. Make a conscious effort to look at your business and provide the flexibility necessary to slow down and help in the moment. People who really understand that people are your biggest asset should not have an issue with this approach.CTAs:Review how flexible and communicative your business is. If the structure prevents addressing in the moment, rewire.Pray and do your own inner work about how God sees you. Ask yourself, “How can I show others that they have the same forgiveness or value?”Take time to go to others for help when you need a break and don’t skimp on self-care. By recharging, you stay ready to help others.What’s coming up next:There are a lot of unhelpful myths circulating about success. Episode 47 of Faithful on the Clock outlines the five biggest, along with alternative viewpoints to replace them with.Support the show!Visit the Faithful on the Clock Patreon page to choose a tier plan and become a supporting member. You'll gain access to goodies like early episode access, newsletters, and more based on the plan that's right for you.Support this Podcast