Healthy relationships are the key to a happy life. Whether it’s personal or professional, the relationships that we form with other people are arguably the most important aspect of our lives. But, for so many of us, our relationships can quickly turn sour and be a negative influence.
Here at YCB, we have worked with the International Authority for Professional Coaching & Mentoring and one of their accredited coaches; Betska K‒Burr, to offer up 5 ways to improve your relationships.
1. Stop negative communications
Having horrible relationships can have a detrimental impact on all aspects of your life and may leave you struggling to trust and hinder your private and professional life. Often, if you have negative feelings towards a relationship, you will communicate negatively and feed into pessimism.
2. Start positive communication
Telling someone (or yourself) that you believe in them and trust them to look after you will lead to a positive relationship and a strong bond that will influence your life in more ways than one. Positive reaffirmations help confirm your feelings of contentment and happiness, which form the basis of any healthy relationship.
3. Be open
Communication is key to all relationships! And you need to be open to dialogue and able to communicate in a clear manner. Be open about how you feel about something or someone and speak clearly about any doubts you may be having, rather than hiding your feelings. Similarly, be open about the positive thoughts that you are feeling and let them know when they’re doing something good. Being an open book will lead to a much more happy and healthy relationship. After all, no one is a mind reader.
4. Find solutions
During times of conflict, it can be tempting to just walk away from the mess and not seek a solution to your problem. However, by ignoring issues and walking away, you will only leave these bad feelings to fester and become increasingly difficult to resolve. During times of conflict, try and find a solution and never be afraid to compromise.
5. Move on
Lastly, it’s important that you move on from any issues that the relationship may have had, and are now resolved. All forms of relationships will endure rough patches, but moving on from previous conflicts and not holding grudges is the key to a happy relationship. Learn to forgive, try and be the bigger person, and make sure that the solution works for all parties and move on from the issue. Lingering on past conflict will do no good for nobody, not yourself nor your friend for example. Instead it will only lead to further feelings of negativity.
