There are many ways to approach a situation. Factors include if you have dealt with the same or similar situation, or if you have never encountered something like it before. t is impossible to know everything, even a subject that you have worked on or studied for many years. Nothing is constant, the way things are approached can change over time, and not every situation comes up for everyone.

Learning opportunities are everywhere. These opportunities can come by happenstance, casual conversation, or be brought up in another context. They can also be sought out by cruising message boards, forums, contacting individuals or groups, attending networking events, meetings, conferences or similar events.

What you learn can reinforce your preferred approach, show you a different perspective, make something more efficient, or otherwise modify or completely change your way of working. Holding fast to the way that something is done can hinder advancement or leave you behind. There are, of course, scenarios where returning to the way something was done or a hybrid approach turns out to be the better option.

Community has been a running theme in my entries. A unified body of individuals, such as a group of people living in a common place, that share a common interest, experience, belief, or culture. It is rare that someone only belongs to one community, that individuals belong to the same exact communities. This is a good thing because it creates the possibility of cross-pollination of questions, ideas and solutions.

There is not going to be agreement on every issue or situation, but the interconnectivity of communities will assist with the understanding of perspective. The only way that this will happen is through being involved. This could lead to being put into situations with which you are uncomfortable. I know from experience that the nerves do not completely go away, but a level of comfort does build.

Conferences and the networking that comes along with them still give me pause, but I have adapted to the concept over time. The limited in-person events and being the only representative of my organization built up a bit of anxiety for a national conference that has passed prior to this being published, but it not being my first conference gave some relief. I also had the opportunity to build up and make connections through local, state and past national conferences, with coworkers and colleagues to make introductions and get me involved. Chances are low that I will not know anyone there. It will also be good to meet, learn and build connections with others.

Being involved with these conference and networking scenarios has helped me be more willing to get involved with other groups, commissions, committees and organizations through common interests. Knowing someone else who is involved is always helpful. One person can get involved through an interest, then another who knows the first person through that shared interest, then through that group of people meet and get involved with another group based on a different interest and so on.

The web on interconnected communities can blossom and grow by someone taking the chance to get involved or someone encouraging another to get involved. It can start by having a passion for a particular thing such as a local park and grow into the realization that strategies being applied there, could also be applied to others. It could also be the realization that skills acquired through education, work, or other experiences could be applied or useful in other areas that have always had interest but weren’t sure how to contribute.

There are many ways to build, contribute, and connect communities. The more that individuals see a way or are encouraged to get involved with something that they have an interest or passion for, the better. This will lead to more connections and branching of communities.