12 THINGS TO START DOING IN RELATIONSHIPS

 

12 THINGS TO START DOING IN RELATIONSHIPS

(EXTRACTION FROM POST: 20 THINGS TO START DOING IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS, WRITTEN BY: MARC AT http://www.marcandangel.com)

1. Give people you don’t know a fair chance.

Every person you look at has a story.  Everyone has gone through something that has changed them, and forced them to grow.  Every passing face represents a story every bit as compelling and complicated as yours.  If you give them a chance, everyone has something amazing to offer.  Appreciate the possibility of new relationships.  Trust your judgment.  Embrace new relationships, knowing that you are entering into unfamiliar territory.  Be ready to learn, be ready for a challenge, and be ready to meet someone that might just change your life forever.

2. Show everyone kindness and respect.

Treat everyone with kindness and respect, even those who are rude to you – not because they are nice, but because you are.  There are no boundaries or classes that define a group of people that deserve to be respected.  Treat everyone with the same level of respect you would give to your grandfather and the same level of patience you would have with your baby brother.  People will notice your kindness.

3. Accept people just the way they are.

In most cases it’s impossible to change people.  Instead of trying to change others, give them your support and lead by example.

4. Encourage others and cheer for them.

Appreciate how amazing the people around you are and it will leads to good places – productive, fulfilling, peaceful places.  Be happy for those who are making progress.  Cheer for their victories.  Be thankful for their blessings, openly.  What goes around comes around, and sooner or later the people you’re cheering for will start cheering for you.

5. Forgive people and move forward.

Don’t live your life with hate in your heart.  You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate.  Forgiveness is the remedy.  It doesn’t mean you’re erasing the past, or forgetting what happened.  It means letting go of the resentment and pain, and instead choosing to learn from the incident and move on with your life.  The less time you spend hating the people who hurt you, the more time you’ll have to love the people who love you.

6. Do little things every day for others.

Those little things may occupy the biggest part of their hearts.  You can’t be everything to everyone, but you can be everything to a few people.

7. Stay in better touch with people who matter to you.

In human relationships distance is not measured in miles, but in affection.  Two people can be right next to each other, yet miles apart.  So don’t ignore someone you care about, because lack of concern hurts more than angry words.  Stay in touch with those who matter to you.  Not because it’s convenient, but because they’re worth the extra effort.  Remember, you don’t need a certain number of friends, just a number of friends you can be certain of.  Paying attention to these people is a priority.

8. Keep your promises and tell the truth.

It’s always better to tell people the truth up front.  Don’t play games with people’s heads and hearts.  Don’t tell half-truths and expect people to trust you when the full truth comes out; half-truths are no better than lies.  Love and friendship don’t hurt.  Lying, cheating and screwing with people’s feelings and emotions hurts.  Always be open and honest.

9. Give what you want to receive.

Start practicing the golden rule.  If you want love, give love.  If you want friends, be friendly.  If you want money, provide value.  Don’t expect to get what you are not willing to give.

10. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

Don’t expect people to know the unknowable.  Information is the grease that keeps the engine of communication functioning.  Communicate clearly.  Don’t try to read other people’s minds, and don’t make other people try to read yours.  Most problems, big and small, within a family, friendship, or business relationship, start with bad communication.

11. Allow others to make their own decisions.

People are living a different life than you are.  Do not judge others by your own past.  What might be good for one person may not be good for another.  What might be bad for one person might change another person’s life for the better.  Allow people to make their own mistakes and their own decisions.

12. Talk a little less, and listen more.

Less advice is often the best advice.  People don’t need lots of advice, they need a listening ear and some positive reinforcement.  What they want to know is often already somewhere inside of them.  They just need time to think, be and breathe, and continue to explore the undirected journeys that will eventually help them find their direction.