Journal Power: Succeeding in Relationships

The way we get along with other people is a big indicator of our personal happiness. If our relationships are easy going and generally supportive, we're much more likely to feel confident and secure. But if we don't get along well with the people we regularly encounter, the effect of that negative energy can be overwhelming. 

Much as we may want to create our own realities, the fact is that other people impact our lives and moods. Family, friends, and co-workers are powerful influences on our days. No man or woman is an island: we face our lives together and we're always inter-dependent. So how can we better control our inter-dependencies to ensure that they are they are nurturing and peaceful?

As we usually recommend, take this question to your journal, to your Inner Coach. Ask, "How can I become more adept at maintaining my relationships so that I can feel better supported?"

One immediate response might be to become more accommodating, more tolerant, less judgmental. It's true that the less we criticize others, the more trusting they're likely to be. But simply becoming a "yes person" isn't a good answer. You want to promote your own strengths while harmonizing with others: this is the ideal.

So explore possibilities in your journal. 

• How can I be strongly supportive of the other person?
• What parts of myself are most representative of who I want to be? How can I express that?
• What in my life or my personality builds a barrier between me and the other person? How is it possible to work around that barrier? If work-arounds are not possible in the present circumstances, is it worth changing things significantly to open up to the relationship? 
• What is the worth of the other person to me, to my heart and to my faith?
• Write out a description of the best-case scenario, an ideal picture of your relationship with the other.

It is such a tender story, the one that tells about our love for another person! Use your journal to make sure that your story is one of courage, honesty, and sincere effort. Because that other person is worth it, and so are you, and so is your relationship!

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Are you struggling with a question or a problem that has you in a bind? Mari L. McCarthy, founder of CreateWriteNow, can help untangle the threads. Contact her now.