I have never liked making compromises. To me, they have always felt you had failed and were trying to salvage something from the wreckage.

 But in the last few months, as I have been more reflective, I have realised this is far from true. My hard-line view on compromise was both selfish and to an extent, naive. More recently, I have often found myself in situations where a compromise has been required. Both in my professional and personal life.

By being both willing and able to compromise, I have learned that it is in fact not losing at all. But rather allows both parties to win.

Now that I know this, it seems really simple. But in a world where I was only looking after number one, there was no real need to consider the needs of others. Now that I am happy to compromise, I feel that I am getting more from life. I am able to celebrate the successes of others and enjoy their happiness. My willingness to compromise is also seeing more people return the gesture. In turn meaning I am achieving more in my own life.

Being open to compromise and doing things differently has allowed me to enjoy new experiences, to broaden my knowledge and skillset, be a better work colleague and most importantly, a better friend.