Her Magazine is New Zealand’s only women’s business lifestyle magazine! Her Magazine highlights the achievements of successful and rising New Zealand businesswomen. Her Magazine encourages a healthy work/life balance.
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her motoring Compromise is a way life? Yeah right! Toni Marshall ventures down the road of happy compromise COMPROMISE! WITHOUT THIS DELICATELY balanced, emotional pressure valve humanity would literally fall apart. The world's population has now swollen to over six billion and not one of us lives in isolation, and science has clearly shown that the actions of every community in it's local environment does in fact have a tangible impact on this amazing planet we live on. In essence, we all have a personal relationship with our planet. Relationships survive on compromise. Family, neighbours, work colleagues and life partners all challenge our space, time, freedoms and beliefs. Anyone in a long-term relationship will testify as to how two individuals soon become a blend of each others routines, habits and personalities partly due to a fusion of actions and emotion, but also largely as a result of daily compromise. I watched with interest as the rugby world cup motivated whole communities to compromise their behaviours. Driven by the passion of the moment, or perhaps incessant marketing, normal behaviours were incredibly modified and so many of us compromised our usually safe sets of beliefs and behaviours. Why else would we adorn our cars with nasty plastic flags, emblems and stickers? Would we normally purchase entire outfits of black, embellished only by silver stripes and ferns? I smile broadly as I wonder just where all those symbols of patriotism have been stored. I started a list of occasions that we could again compromise our normality by covering ourselves in temporary tattoos and dress in highly flammable black nylon sports attire. Of course Waitangi Day was the obvious leader, but there is of course Black Fridays as a definite back up. 56 | October/November 2011 | HER MAGAZINE We can be tricked into compromising our behaviours too. Take for example fuel discount vouchers. Shop and save – right? Of course, if you do shop as part of your normal routine at a store that offers discounts on fuel it just makes sense to use them, but I noted the trickery of one petrol company, which really are forcing a compromise on motorists when their offer falls short of being fair. Their promotion boasts proudly that you need not bring a voucher, but you simply have to spend $4.00 and you will receive a 4 cent discount per litre! Now hang on! Apply simple maths, and to regain your investment of $4.00 you would have to purchase 100 litres of gas! Yeah right! For many of us it is when we are driving that the greatest level of compromise is required. Absolutely everything that involves a journey in a car on public roads is compromised! Just think about it! Your speed, your time, your route, your actions at intersections and round-a-bouts, your lane choice and even your parking space. Not unlike any relationship, if we all accept that every journey will involve a huge amount of compromise – preparing ourselves emotionally and socially and allowing the necessary additional time – I can guarantee that not only would our journeys not be full of anger and frustration, but the national road toll would fall immediately! With the holiday season upon us I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year. May all your driving be full of happy compromise! Toni Marshall