Enrich your relationships to enrich your life

Some of us thrive off social interactions and love to be surrounded by people at all times whereas others of us prefer solitude, but we all have numerous relationships in our lives.  Whether it is family, friendships, work colleagues, neighbours or the waiter at your favourite restaurant, maintaining positive relationships has significant power to enrich your life.

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The power of connection

A sense of connection and belonging is important to our wellbeing.  The number and type of relationships we have will vary based on personality type and stage of our life, but having a sense of community, of being part of something bigger than ourselves is something that we all need. 

Evolving our relationships

The way we relate to other people is something we don't often give a lot of thought to.  We unconsciously mimic the behaviours we see from other people and repeat patterns that we grew up with.  It's time to make a change.  To find a new and better way of relating to others that benefits us all.  

Get real with relationships

Practical hints and ideas for transforming your relationships.  Resources to help you make the changes that you want to see in the relationships in your life. 

Give yourself the gift of generosity

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Giving feels good.  We all know that; we’ve all experienced the joy of giving at some point in our lives.  As human beings we have an innate need for meaning in our lives and it has been widely documented that when you strip them back to basics many of the ways we find true meaning are through helping others in some way.  Making others feel good makes us feel good, pure and simple.

Like everything of course it is important to have balance.  If we spend all our time and energy giving to others we will become exhausted and jaded.  It is important to be just as generous with yourself as you are with others. 

There are many forms of giving.  Endless ways that you can bring joy to others' lives, many of which will cost you nothing in any sense.  Generosity can be as simple as giving a smile to a stranger as you pass them in the street, as allowing a car to pull out in front of you in a stream of traffic or as collecting your neighbours mail while they are on holiday.  You can be generous with your time, with your money and with your knowledge and skills.  You can be generous with your love and compassion. 

Make it a conscious habit to seek opportunities to give more.  Remember that small acts of generosity can say just as much as large ones, in fact often more.  What is important is not the size or nature of the gift, but the intention behind it.  Generosity must come from the heart, and must always be free from any expectation of appreciation or reciprocation.  When you give a gift and expect to receive thanks for it, or to receive something in return, it ceases to be an act of generosity.