Relationships matter
There is nothing more important in our personal and professional lives that the nature and quality of the relationships we create, with ourselves and with others. Being happy is making sure that you have good relationships.
Increased work pressures, irregular hours and mighty sales targets means that many people spend more of their lives slaving away and forget to think about and focus on the important things in life.
Living in the moment and getting to love means being able to spend quality time doing what you enjoy; spending time with your family and making time for that special someone in your life.
I’ve noticed an increasing number of people confidently sharing their personal happy moments over professional social media sites, and I think good for them! These people seem to know that our personal relationships invariably influence our professional relationships and success.
The fact is we are social beings; our brains have evolved for us to interact and function cooperatively. And relationships matter. Prioritising, listening and making good mental decisions makes really good relationships.
In September last year, we celebrated our friend’s marriage and, during the ceremony, the vicar described lasting relationships as an active, on-going process where each party should motivate each other so they can live life to the fullest.
Naturally, it made me think about my marriage to Leigh and how and why I still love him, maybe not the same love as when we first got together; an even deeper love now. And that was when it struck me. I realised that the main reason, above everything else, is because he believes in me. He always has.
From the first moment we met, Leigh encouraged and motivated me to challenge myself for growth and success. Of course there have been hurdles along the way, ups and downs, some bigger and some smaller; just like we all go through. Together, we find our way around, we don’t always get it right, we accept that. We learnt to adapt and change and feed our relationship so we can make the best decisions.
Epiah Khan, the apocryphal Middle Eastern mystic, wrote:
Relationships are inevitable.
The best feed our growth.
The worst rob us of time and energy.
Vital, then, to recognise and develop only the best of relationships.
