𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬
𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬
We live with and are surrounded by people all the time. We have personal and professional relationships with people. It is up to us how we cultivate and nurture good and healthy associations, connections, friendships and interpersonal relationships with people. Happy relationships increase our social and emotional health and well-being. It is extremely important to cultivate better relationships and avoid toxic people and relationships.
Stay true to your real identity and being. While it is easy to be influenced by the charisma or magnetism of others, it is important to maintain your uniqueness and embrace your own identity, personality and who you truly are. Be proud of who you are, your family, your background, your achievements, efforts, capabilities, good intentions and all that you have been blessed with. Retain and celebrate your unique qualities. Keep your goals and growth in mind and always continue making efforts to achieve them. It will make you more satisfied and happy in the long run. Others will also respect you.
Be open and honest from the beginning. Set the right expectations and tone. We tend to modify our behaviour and personality to be accepted and appreciated by others. That is dishonesty. Any relationship built on the foundation of dishonesty never thrives. In the long run, people might get offended and you also will feel stifled, living a dual life. So, honesty is of utmost importance. Truth is the ultimate reality. Those who care for you, are good people and are destined to be with and around you, will love and respect you for who you are and your choices. They will understand.
Learn to be empathetic with other people. Practice thinking from their point of view, being ‘in their shoes.’ We all have our own journey. We all have our own thought processes and thinking patterns, that are shaped by our experiences and exposure in life. Sometimes, it is very helpful to put yourself in the other person’s place and given that person’s situations and personality, think and introspect from that perspective. This not only builds closer bonds and relationships, but also broadens your own horizons. Your mind expands and your thinking becomes multidimensional. Let go of perfectionism. It is not a virtue, but a total disaster when it comes to relationships. The more imperfect we are, the more perfect the relationship is, because we can complement each other and realize that we need each other.
Regular communication is helpful and beneficial. Open, honest and regular communication about how you are feeling or to clarify what you have understood is always better rather than misunderstandings tearing apart the relationship. If you stay quiet, take the other person for granted and wait for things to happen and solve on their own, sadly this is not going to happen. Someone must take the initiative to talk, clarify and communicate. Simply avoiding the problem and shutting off is not the solution and never helps anyone. Discussion is always good and beneficial. Be willing to negotiate.
Be dependable and consistent. Walking the talk or doing what you committed makes you reliable and dependable. That way people trust you more and you build strong relationships with people. Show up when you are supposed to and be consistent. Bonds of trust and conviction are the backbones of a steady and long-term relationship. Set boundaries and ground rules where required. If you feel that someone is repeatedly taking you for granted and doing or asking for things that make you uncomfortable, then you must set boundaries and ground rules, for your own good and that of the relationship. Be assertive, straightforward and upfront. Realize what is good for you, what is good for them and then reach a middle ground or mutual agreement.
It must be mutual. Both people in the relationship must practice all the above rules. Everyone needs to put in extra effort to nurture a relationship, rather than just one-sided. It takes a lot of labour to make relationships work.
Over and above all the above points, there are 3 things which are the foundation for any relationship to blossom. Acceptance, forgiveness and unconditional love are the pillars that make people want to be with each other, tolerate each other’s weak points, accept their flaws, mistakes and shortcomings and welcome their differences of opinions. Cultivating happy interpersonal relationships take lot of efforts and is an ongoing process.
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