What do you think about when you read the word
relationship? Does it conjure up thoughts of romance?
Or perhaps business, world politics, friendship, family?
Does it bring up happy memories, painful memories,
confusion? Is it exciting, motivating or does it feel like
hard work? Does it bring up safety and security or does
it feel threatening?
I'll bet right now your heads are spinning. The fact is
that we can all answer, yes, to all of these questions,
even those that oppose each other, because we've all
experienced many different forms of relationships with
many different outcomes.
The dynamics of relationships are actually quite complex because they involve people who have different
backgrounds were raised in different ways, maybe in
different cultures, who have been socialized differently
and have different religious and political affiliations.
All these things define who we are and often dictate our responses and emotions.
Most people meet others, use their observations to make judgments about whether or not this is someone they may
want to know more about. When this happens, we are not
being unconscious about the relationship, so it will define
itself and it's highly likely it will not last.
Why you ask? Because relationships do not just happen, infatuation just happens, a feeling of connection just
happens and that wears off very quickly.
A truly healthy relationship must have a solid foundation
of shared values, strong respect of one another's right
to their opinions, willingness to learn from one another,
a desire to understand and not blame, and most
importantly intact egos that honor each others'
individual needs without feeling threatened or left out.
And because of this, effective communication is the key
to successful relationships.
Come and join me at the Dream Factory Luncheon on
Thursday February 17th and in the spirit of Valentine's
Day, learn how to "Love the One You're With:
Communication for Powerful Relationships" and
a follow-up Workshop on February 26th; 2 to 5pm.
