I truly believe that relationships and experiences are all that travel with us to the next life. So, how to we maximize the relationships in this one?
We often feel that increasing the bottom line on our business, or improving our net worth will lead to more happiness and success, but if we are sacrificing time with our loved ones are we really successful?
“No other success in life can compensate for failure in the home.” -David O. McKay
Ask yourself, what are you willing to sacrifice: Relationships with the ones who truly matter in your life, or achieving a higher status in your world?
Three Steps to Improve your Communication
We have already established the importance of relationships, but how do we improve them? Communication truly is the key, for how many relationships have we ruined or damaged through saying things that should not have been said, or from not speaking at all?
Here are three suggestions that just might be what you need to strengthen your relationships with those that matter most to you.
Actively Listen. If you ever hear me on the phone with someone from Japan, you will hear a lot of sounds coming out of my mouth when I am listening. In the Japanese language, you listen very intently with several repeated "mnn" and "eeh" or even "a so desu ka" (is that so?) to show your focus in the conversation. We all know listening is important and that we should listen twice a s much as we speak, but try actively listening and repeating things back in an effort to fight our natural tendency to passively listen while formulating our own remarks.
Be Humble & Validate. The most happy and successful people are the most teachable. Humility is simply being teachable and realizing that you can learn from anything and everyone if your attitude is right. Try to truly learn and at the same time validate those with whom you are speaking with and watch your relationships grow right before your eyes.
Don't Over Promise. We all have the best intentions and we don't want to disappoint either, but if we don't set boundaries and learn to say no we will inevitably over extend ourselves and burnout. When we over promise and under deliver we do more harm to the relationship in the long run than the short term gain from our initial enthusiasm to help out a friend. It is always better to under promise and over deliver!
Nothing new here on these suggestions so really consider this a friendly reminder of what matters most in life and how to keep and protect it!
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