Relationships are hard work, but they are vital to our getting the most out of this life!  You can do life by yourself, but you are not really living.  Really living is when you do it with other people and when other people do it with you.  So here is a list of 7 things that each of us can do, to help grow and develop the relationships around us:

1.  Learn to really listen! Most of the time, we are listening to reply, instead we need to learn to listen to understand.  When we begin to really understand what the other person is saying, then we can be the help, comfort and encouragment they need us to be.  Stop thinking about what you are going to say and really listen to what is being said to you.  Good listeners use all of their senses to pick up on what is going on!

2.  Work to make your time, quality time!  When someone gives you their time, they are giving you their most precious commodity, don’t waste it!  Make sure that you get the most out of time you have with those that you care about, by giving more and more of yourself.  Be fully alive in the present moment and don’t take one second for granted.  Make the most of the 24 hours you have been blessed with today by spending quality time growing with those that you love and that love you.

3.  Take time for self!  It is not selfish to take some “me” time, in fact, it is vital if you intend to give your best in your relationships with others.  Take time everyday to take care of yourself.  Take time every week to do something that you really enjoying doing.  Take time at least once a month to get away from your regular routine and do something that makes you happy.  This will actually make you more of a joy to be around and will make you a lot more interesting person to those who choose to be a part of your relationship circle.

4.  Stop expeting others to complete you!  Others can add to your life and others can take away from your life, but they cannot complete you.  If you are looking for someone to complete you, you will be disappointed, because even if someone can complete you, they can only do it temporaraly.  The task of completing someone else is fulfilling at first, but it eventually becomes a drain.  The best relationships are made up of give and take.  It is the natural flow of give and take in a relationship that allows the relationship muscles to grow and make life bigger and better.

5.  Appreciate the little things! It is the little things that make life sweet.  The sparkle in your childs eye, the embrace of a lover, the encouragment of a word from a friend, all of these are little things that have a big impact.  Make sure that you are not taking these things for granted.  Everyday of your life and every person in your life is filled with little things that make life sweeter, so make sure you enjoy the sweetness!

6.  Understand that love is expressed in different ways!  We all love in differnet ways.  You can’t make someone love the same way that you do and why would you want to?  The people that are in your life all love you in different ways and for different reasons, enjoy that, celebrate that and get the most from all the different flavors.

7.  Practice forgiveness!   When you become perfect, then you can expect others to be perfect.  Since there is not any danger in that happening anytime soon, then give and receive forgiveness.  I say practice, because we are all works in progress and we need all the help we can get.  And the best way to get better at something is by practice.  Start now – what or who do you need to forgive?

You can do this and your relationships can go to a whole new level and I pray that they will as you live blessed!