Mike Clark's Business Bites: How well do you get along with your neighbours?

I tell everyone I live in the best city in the world and my perception of the kindness and generosity of Palmerston North residents has only increased. Photo / ManawatuNZ.co.nz

OPINION:

We received a handwritten note in our mailbox that really challenged me as a neighbour.

How well do you get along with your neighbours? One of the things that made me fall in love with New Zealand before I even got here was how nice people are.

New Zealand has the classic catch-22 immigration laws because you have to have a job to get a visa and you have to get a visa to get a job. Trying to immigrate in the early 2000s felt like a lesson in navigating a maze, hamstrung, blindfolded with cryptic messaging that bordered on the impossible.

I had sent my CV to hundreds of companies and heard nothing back. Submitting a CV took a lot of time. In Zimbabwe, CVs were mini-dossiers and each application had a personalised cover letter. The only response I had had was from a recruitment company in Wellington interested in my welding skills - something I had done years earlier.

Then I received an unexpected email response from a woman at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. She kindly pointed out that in New Zealand a CV was ideally only two pages long (not 20) and had edited mine to give me an idea of what to expect. I was blown away that somebody would actually take the time to help a total stranger at the other end of the world. It made me all the more determined to immigrate to a country where people could be that nice.

Arriving in NZ, my perception of the kindness and generosity of the locals only increased. I love this country. I tell everyone I live in the best city in the world (which is obviously Palmy - not that it needs to be stated, but just in case you haven't visited!) This is my 18th year in NZ. I still love it. A lot has changed, though.

Political, racial and social issues abound in our age. The news can be quick to pick up on and magnify the sensational, the dramatic and the ugly. Covid has increased the distancing and caution people show when there are opportunities to socialise. There appears to be a sharp increase in crime, with all the uncertainty and unsettledness that is attendant with it.

The letter in our mailbox reminded me NZ is still predominantly filled with nice people. There is still genuine care and consideration for others. It was an introduction letter saying they had bought the house behind ours and wanted to cut down some trees in their yard that were overgrown with ivy. They realised their trees offered a degree of privacy for us and wondered if we would mind.

Even as I type I am in awe and humbled by the gesture. If it were my yard those trees would be down without a second thought. It made me deeply reflect on what had drawn me to NZ, why I love this country I now call home, and wonder how much I am being the person I wanted to be.

"When we are clear on who we want to be, we can be that person every day, and that is who we then become", is one of my favourite quotes in training. Take a moment today to look around you. Appreciate all the good things you have in your life. Look in a mirror and check in with yourself to see if you are bringing the best version of yourself to this day.

We live in a beautiful city. We live in a free country. There is beauty and there are problems. You have a choice on where you focus your attention and energy. You have a choice on how you act and react with those around you. If we all bring our best, every day, this country will continue to be an amazing place to live in and deserve the tagline Thomas Bracken popularised of "God's own country".

Mike Clark is director and lead trainer and facilitator at Think Right business training company.