Life is relationships. When you think about it, we experience everything in relation to something else, and especially someone else. The people around us fill our lives. We work with people. We live with people. We have fun with people. We’re always interacting, connecting, and—yes, at times—arguing.
Relationships are difficult. They can be the source of our greatest stresses, like a boss who’s hard to get along with. They can also be the source of our greatest joys. When asked what’s most important in life, how many of us would say our relationships—spouse, family, or friends? That’s why we must build them intentionally!
Today’s post is a little different than the ones we’ve had previously. It will be a shorter post for the purpose of starting a discussion in the comments. So please join in and speak up!
The question is: What are the characteristics and attitudes that create amazing relationships?
When I think about my own answer to this question, empathy comes to mind. Empathy is feeling with someone else. When we empathize with another person, we begin to understand their inner world as if it were our own; rather than focusing on our own thoughts and feelings, we start to grasp what life would look from another’s perspective. We change through the process. It makes us less calloused and prideful with the people we care about. Patience, understanding, and love begin to come forth, all of which deepen our relationships further.
Empathy is crucial because is is the foundation for creating all the other characteristics and behaviors that make amazing relationships.
