Using Engagement Equity is all about adding value to the accounts you hold with clients, employees, friends, and family members. But it’s also about putting yourself first and adding value to your own account so you can be your best possible self and give to others without needing to receive anything in return. When we’re continually adding value to an account of someone who never gives back, who doesn’t appreciate your efforts, or who drains your energy, you need to take steps to close the account before it harms you and starts interfering with giving value to those who do appreciate you and reciprocate your efforts.
Knowing when to close an account is perhaps one of the most important Power Players in all of Engagement Equity. If we don’t know how to do this effectively, we can easily get discouraged, frustrated, or just flat-out exhausted. Everyone knows that feeling this way certainly doesn’t put us in the right frame of mind to give to others (or ourselves), so we have to protect ourselves from the energy zap that comes with keeping an account open that really should be closed.
Knowing when an account should be closed
There could be hundreds of reasons why you decide to close certain accounts (and hundreds of other reasons why you decide to keep an account open.) But what it really comes down to is this:
When someone (or collective someones) are taking up the energy needed to focus on accounts closer to your inner circle, it’s time to close the account.
This might look like any of the following:
- You have a needy friend who constantly asks you for favors and time and leaves you with no extra time to spend with closer friends and takes time away from your family.
- You have a client who demands you answer his or her questions and do tasks immediately, even when that means neglecting clients who need your attention.
- You are in a networking group that requires you to be at various meetings and events and you no longer have enough time during the day to get work done for your business.
Of course, there are plenty of other examples of an account that needs to be closed, but this gives you a good idea of what I’m talking about. Simply put, if someone is taking up an excessive amount of your time and energy with little regard for what it’s doing to it, it’s likely time to close the account.
How do you close an account?
Closing an account doesn’t have to be dramatic. It can be as simple as an internal decision to not continue putting deposits into a certain account any longer. You don’t even have to tell the person or group of people you’re doing it in most cases unless you’re officially terminating a business relationship. Closing an account is all about giving yourself permission to put yourself and those close to you first. It’s not about blame and it’s not about asking someone else to change. It’s a decision that you get to make for you and it’s important to realize you always have the right to make this decision.
Are closed accounts closed forever?
When you make the decision to close an account, you may find there is never a reason to re-open it. On the other hand, a situation may occur when circumstances change or when the person whose account you closed changes and it makes sense to re-open the account. This is one of the reasons why closing an account should not involve a fight, blame, or accusations. You never know when change will occur and the time may be right to re-open a closed account and re-establish a relationship with someone who once was important to you.
Closing an account is the flipside of opening an account, something I talk more about in my recent podcast. In this podcast, I also talk about the new concept of the Universal Account, which I also think of as the “karma account.” If you’d like to learn more about these topics, I hope you’ll take the time to listen.
Knowing when to close an account is important for boundary-setting and to make sure you are practicing the Radiating Outward concept. Once you master this crucial skill, you can always ensure you have the energy, time, and resources to give to those who matter most.
