Community over competition. I’ve spotted this small business/entrepreneurial hashtag all over social media, and it truly resonates at this stage in my life. For my purposes, I’m adopting it as a personal motto instead of how it’s generally used online to promote good small business behaviors.
Over many decades of working as an editor and writer, I always felt this buzz of electricity when I worked in a busy newsroom. There were always multiple televisions on, a police scanner, and a phone endlessly ringing somewhere. That, coupled with the sense that our team had to be the one to get the scoop or break the news first, kept the adrenaline high and the pressure on—even in the smaller towns I worked in.
It’s for the best that I covered very few “hard news” beats in my career. I never liked sticking a tape recorder or microphone into someone’s face and blasting questions at them. It always felt invasive and rude. Looking back, it never contributed anything meaningful to a story I was working on.
Becoming a mother truly shifted my trajectory. People remember how you treat them—especially children. They remember how you made them feel. Kindness is one of the adjectives I always want to be associated with my name. Yes, sometimes there is snark, sarcasm, and spice. But I don’t want those to be the attributes that first come to mind when my name is spoken.
Thankfully, there are people in my life who gently remind me that I don’t need to be the first on the scene, and I definitely don’t need to be the loudest in my career or my personal life.
What do I need? To reflect and respect the community I move within. To take time to listen to the people I meet. It’s a concept we could all adopt—community over competition.
Annapolis Moms recently enjoyed a Moms Night Out on the Magothy River with several group members, thanks to Cruise the Chesapeake. There were a lot of laughs and a lot of bonding over familiar ground. I even reconnected with a former colleague!
No matter who I spoke with, these women all radiated kindness and openness, and they all appreciated getting some time to themselves with a glass of wine and a tiny bundt cake. This is our community at its best. We weren’t competing to be the best mom, or the best wife, or the best small business owner. We were enjoying each other’s company and sharing our stories.
This week, think about how you can encourage community over competition. Ask your kids what they think about it, too. Email me their responses, and I will share a few.
And happy back-to-school week, parents. Deep breaths. This is always a tough time of year—lean on your community! (Also, email me some good weeknight dinner recipes for teenagers. I have run out of ideas! Kathy@annapolismomsmedia.com.)
By Kathy Knotts
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