We are a social species. Therefore, most of us are in a relationship, whether it be with a family member, neighbor, friend, colleague at work, collaborator on a project, or life partner.
Building, maintaining, nurturing all relationships require particular skills and attention. We often lack those relationship skills, which leaves us feeling dissatisfied, disconnected, misunderstood and frustrated.
Think of all of your relationships at home, work and community. Now think about which of your relationships would not benefit from:
· Active listening
· Curiosity
· Generosity
Now think about which of your relationships at home, work, community would not benefit from asking, implicitly or explicitly, the following questions:
· How are we doing together?
· What are we doing together?
· What do we want to be doing together?
· What do we need in order to do that?
· How do you want to be doing our interactions?
I would bet that we think of very few relationships that would not benefit from these practices whether things are going smoothly or not. Especially when we hit rough patches of misunderstandings, hurt feelings, or disappointments, our ability to be generous and curious, checking in with how we are doing might allude us.
Our relationship coaching helps you develop and practice these skills with you mother, brother, neighbor, coworker, fellow artist, and best friend. So next time you wish you were closer or working more effectively in your relationships and say to yourself ‘wow we could use some help, but we’re not a married couple’, perhaps think again!