Why Relationship Strategies Are Essential to More Than Romance

Whenever we think about relationship building and skills we automatically think about romantic relationships. After all, it takes a while to even define those relationships. However, if we think about this further, we can absolutely think of other connections and interactions that constitute a relationship. The people we talk to in our neighborhood, fellowship at church or our place of worship, the staff that take care of our little ones in daycare, and even the co-workers we eat lunch with and spend eight hours a day with. These are all relationships.

We are so used to worrying about our romantic relationships that we don’t really consider anything else as one. Our minds automatically jump to the romantic side of things and not friendship or the relationships that we have with our family members. If we put as much effort into all of the relationships as we do our romantic ones, I feel like our interactions and bonds would be much stronger, whether it be work, school or personal.

If we’re honest, we don’t even consider the impact of all of these relationships. But the reality is that the health of our relationships directly impacts our individual health. When you are stressed at work it completely impacts and even alters our mood and ability to interact with others. If you have a bad day at work, then it can easily influence your attitude with your family and friends when you get home. Maybe you failed a test at school, and it changes the relationship you have with your teacher. The teacher could be great but because you’re not grasping the curriculum, you may change your view of the teacher. So many little things can affect our relationships with others and if we aren’t mindful of how to handle these obstacles, we can do some serious damage to the bonds that we have around us.

So how do we fix unhealthy relationships that aren’t romantic? We do the same things we do to fix our romantic relationships. I know it sounds a bit odd to do the same thing with coworkers that you would do with your spouse. Obviously, we aren’t trying to “keep the spark” with coworkers, but the same qualities that are important in a romantic relationship are important to building connection with a coworker and professional relationships.

Communication is a major player in fixing relationships. Being able to communicate with colleagues, friends or family will help to resolve any underlying issues that you may have with each other. If you don’t communicate how you feel, then how is anyone supposed to know there’s an issue? Or how are you supposed to know that you are the problem when it comes to someone else. Being open, positive and giving space for discussion can help anyone tackle the biggest of problems.

Being understanding and receptive to what your friend/colleague is discussing with you, is also important to building a strong relationship. How many times have you poured your heart out to someone about a situation and they just keep nodding their head or not paying attention? It sucks right? Well how do you think an employee or friend might feel? When you are communicating with someone make sure that they know they’re being heard and make sure you’re being heard when it’s your time to vent and discuss something troubling you.

Another strategy for building relationships is maintaining a respectful relationship with the other person. If there isn’t any respect between both of you then the relationship will suffer. If your employer doesn’t respect the fact that you need to be off by 4:30pm everyday to pick up your child at 5 and they keep scheduling you until 6, won’t this make you feel a certain way? In this situation they’re no longer respecting your boundary or time with your child. You see how this could damage the working relationship? Without respect, there won’t be a strong foundation to build off of.

Even though romantic relationships seem to be at the top of everyone’s radar, we need to make time to nurture our working relationships, our friends and family. These relationships also contribute to our everyday life and the way we behave in most cases, so it’s necessary to give these bonds the extra attention and dedication that they deserve.