Author: Akina Chargualaf / Source: Lifehack
Creating friendships and relationships were much simpler when we were younger. It had more to do with who was in your proximity at that specific time in your life and sharing common experiences.
As we grow older, our paths begin to divert and we adjust to the rhythm which life is moving, and often times we find our relationships changing with it.
A huge part of life is cultivating relationships not only with family and friends, but in all aspects including romantic partners, work colleagues, and even within ourselves. As adults, it gets harder to keep up with our inner circles when we have a family to take care of, a career that’s developing, and living day to day. To foster positive relationships, you must first accept that sometimes certain relationships change, but fostering and maintaining the positive ones is how to achieve more in life.
Here are ways to check and see if you are cultivating positive relationships in all areas of your life by assessing and asking:
1. Assess Your Big Five
Motivational speaker Jim Rohn, once said,
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
Instead of reflecting on just five, take it one step further by reflecting on the five people you spend the most time with in different areas of your life – personal, work, and family.
A great starting point is seeing how present you are in that very moment.
For example, you decide to grab coffee with a long-time friend whom you catch up every couple of months. During the conversation, do you find yourself checking your phone every five minutes or going through a list of things you could be doing instead?
If so, it may be time to see how much value you’re getting from this particular relationship.Some relationships overgrow one another throughout time, and that’s completely normal. As selfish it may sound, your time is just as valuable.
2. Listen to the Way You Converse with Others
Have you ever taken a moment to listen to how you carry conversations with your friends, family, partner, and most importantly – yourself? Sometimes we get caught up in storytelling, that we don’t pay much attention to the language that we’re using or how we’re using it.
- Are you present and attentive when you’re having dinner with your family?
- Are you on your phone when you’re having date night with your partner?
- Do you spend your lunch breaks listening to workplace gossip?
Check-in with how you feel when these conversations are occurring. Part of fostering positive relationships means making sure you feel good when you have them because it’s the experience we feel on a daily basis that shapes our days ahead.
If you notice that you’re surrounded by negativity, try distancing yourself with those or try shifting the conversation towards a different direction. If you’re noticing you are on your phone during family time, dive a little deeper and see what is capturing your attention and why.
Sometimes the answer lies not only where you are at that specific moment, but where your mind is.
3. Listen to How You Converse with Yourself
There are important conversations we have daily, but the most important ones are the conversations we…
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