Out of all the relationships we encounter in our lifetime; spouses, friends, family, associates, co-workers and society, they are all affected by one thing. Us.
We are the common denominator in all interactions with the people around us, good or bad. The way we think, act, respond, communicate, speak, listen, love, give, receive, judge, do, react. It’s all derived from the relationship we have developed within ourselves. Just like many of the interactions with other people take time and investment, so does the one we have with our self.
Think about the people that you truly care about and love in your life. It is our human nature to want to care for them, protect them, nurture them, spend time with them, make them happy. It is also very common to put ourselves last and not even care to think about doing those things for us. But to really look into the eyes of your own soul and connect with who you are without the distraction of others is something that is completely undervalued and ignored.
We live in a world of digital citizenship and social interaction that is available 24/7 non stop. It makes it hard to switch off for fear of missing out or because we don’t ever remember what it was like before we were so connected to the world at our fingertips. Here are 5 tips to having a great relationship within yourself.
1.Trust Yourself
Trust is very important. You have to be able to back yourself and believe in yourself even if you end up making a mistake or a wrong decision. The trust comes in knowing that you will be able to learn from it, correct it and continue moving forward. It also means trusting your intuition and knowing that you have the answers inside yourself.
2.Love Yourself
What does loving yourself actually mean? Because we hear about it all the time but do we know how to do it? For me personally it means knowing all my flaws and imperfections, knowing who I am as a person (my core values), knowing that I am capable of so much because I’m an almighty creation with the capacity to love, create, imagine, feel, believe, and be who I was made to be and all that represents.
3.Treat Yourself
Treat yourself the way you deserve to be treated. With love and respect. Kindness. Appreciation. Patience. You set the bar for how others treat you based upon how you treat yourself. Do you value yourself? Value your time, attention, effort, thoughts, feelings, sense of humour, quirkiness and all the things that make you unique? You teach people how to treat you. So be really good to yourself so it sends a message to others that you really value your self worth.
4.Challenge Yourself
Like any good relationship trait, you need someone that’s going to challenge you to be the best version of yourself. You need to be able to be that person that is going to push yourself to be challenged in order to grow into a better human being. To be stagnant and not grow through difficult times, you are not going to develop character, strength, patience, humility, confidence and all the things that are going to make you who you are and who you are going to become. Doing this allows you to know who you are and what you are made of.
5.See Yourself Through Someone Else’s Eyes
Being in a good relationship with who you are is a lifelong journey. It’s pretty much a constant in our life because we go through so many ups and downs and we will always make mistakes from time to time. If it is hard for you at first to see that you are likeable, even lovable, try looking at yourself through someone else’s eyes. Having good people around you is vital for this to work. Whether you know it or not, you are truly valued by someone in this lifetime.