relationships MOT
Relationships, whether they are professional or personal need some regular maintenance, not unlike owning a car.
Want your car to last long? We all do. It’s a big investment and we want it to work well and fit our needs. We have to intentionally maintain our vehicles; however, it seems that with relationships we stay on a kind of automatic pilot, paying very little attention to maintaining the relationship itself.
When things start to get hard or challenging, we keep driving along the same road, often overlooking the small things until they become large and overwhelming. It’s hard at that point to get the relationship back on track and so we let it slide even more. How often do we drive around, long term, in a car that has a mysterious and worrying sound going on in the engine? Very rarely!
If we took the time to do these little ‘check ups’ in our relationships, we could keep things running smoother as well. What do your relationships need to keep them operating at their prime? For everyone that could look a bit different. Do something- even something small to charge things up-volunteer, go out to lunch, meet for coffee, make a date, send a loving text, go on a walk together. Have fun-do something creative or challenging together, play games, lighten up. Do small things, greet in the morning, hug and kiss each time you leave and come back-leave a small note of appreciation for your partner. Hold your spouse’s hand-why do we do this when we’re dating and these small gestures subside the longer we’re together?
Ask-spend some time finding out what you could do to be a more loving partner. This feedback is vital and so rarely inquired about. Be positive-pay attention to what is going well and take the time to say something about it. If it’s something that someone does, even on a daily basis-acknowledge it.
It may be part of what’s expected of them, but those acknowledgements and gratitude go a long way to building positivity and help build a strong base for your relationships, so when things get rocky you’ve got a resilient foundation.
At the end of the day you want to be mindful and intentional about creating healthy relationships, in the end that’s what really matters. Look around you; give your relationships the ‘tune ups’ they need to thrive.
