All of us desire supportive, deep relationships, but they are not always easy to find. Conflict and misunderstanding are typical in relationships with friends and family, and isolation is a common outcome. What even constitutes a real, healthy relationship? You’re not alone if finding satisfying relationships has been difficult for you; assistance is available.
There is a way out of feelings of loneliness, hurt, frustration, or uncertainty regarding the relationships in your life. We’ll look at several doable strategies for establishing and preserving wholesome partnerships in this guide. Let’s first explore the reasons why relationships are important to us before getting started.
Why Are Connections Important?
Our lives are just better when we have positive connections with other people. Researchers began following the lives of 268 sophomores at Harvard University 85 years ago in 1938, beginning one of the longest-running studies in history. This long-term study has shown that happy and healthy relationships are the best indicators of both.
In every episode, we examined various types of relationships and explored strategies for their successful operation. Use the links below to jump forward or continue reading to see what we learnt.
ties with family friends
Building Mentoring Partnerships Across Generations
Life Groups
Family
Since no family is flawless, family interactions can be challenging. Everybody is different, and we all have distinct personalities, skills, and shortcomings. It makes sense that these distinctions frequently lead to conflict over time. Tension with the people we spend the most time with can be exacerbated by issues like comparison, unfulfilled expectations, and poor communication.
Even though no one will ever have a flawless family, having a caring, sustaining, and healthy family is doable. Do you want the health of your family to be better? Begin modestly. Consider a single adjustment you could do to regularly show your family how much you appreciate them. You could prepare dinner a few times a week or make a once-monthly call to a distant relative. Everybody will see this modest change differently, but making a loving move of some kind is what really counts. A strong foundation of healthy connections at home will also have a favorable effect on all other relationships in your life, which is an extra plus.
Friendships
Friendships Work is necessary for strong friendships. Most wonderful things in life are like this. You won’t make much progress with sporadic gym visits, but constant training will yield the desired outcomes. In a similar vein, friendship grows closer the more you do things together. If you’ve noticed that your friendships aren’t as tight as they once were, or if making friends has always been difficult for you, making the effort can pay off.
If you want to get closer to your friends once you’ve made a few, consistency is essential. Establish a regular time for your group to gather together. This could be attending a book club or getting coffee every Tuesday at the same location. Being consistent will enable both of you to value your friendship above anything else.
Guiding
Mentors are those who may impart invaluable knowledge and experience to you. They are one-on-one instructors who let you benefit from both their achievements and mistakes. What is it you would like to get better at in life? Choose a person that is either where you want to be or has the expertise to go there once you know how you want to develop. Ask the guy who has been happily married for thirty years if you want to learn how to be a better spouse. Ask the woman at church who always brings the greatest snacks if you want to learn how to cook better.
It’s not always simple to find a decent mentor. It can be awkward to approach someone you admire and ask for their time because we sometimes feel they have more important things to accomplish with their time. And if they decline? Although there is a real risk of rejection, the advantages of having a good mentor outweigh it. It’s not your fault if they say no; they could not have enough margin available at that particular time, or they might not feel secure in their abilities to mentor. Recall that you can acquire knowledge from someone informally, without requiring a sustained commitment from them. There is plenty to consider and put into practice with just one talk.
Relationships Across Generations
We currently have four generations of adults coexisting in the world: Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. Your life will be full with opportunities to engage with and learn from individuals from other generations, whether they are friends, family, mentors, or coworkers, regardless of which generation you belong to. Collaborating with others to share varied viewpoints and experiences is an excellent means of personal development.
Entering these partnerships can be unsettling if you haven’t had much experience with intergenerational relationships before. Alone time with others is a simple method to increase the productivity of interactions. Just try to learn more about the person you are speaking with, whether it’s a new coworker over lunch, a retiree you’re volunteering with, or someone you’re with in a completely different situation. Additionally, keep in mind that their experiences in life are probably extremely different from your own. You can approach someone with greater patience and understanding if you put aside your expectations for how they should behave and speak.
Life Groups
Are you trying to find a useful onramp to make new friends and build long-lasting relationships? A LifeGroup could be an excellent starting point. People from all backgrounds, ages, and life stages come together in LifeGroups, typically once a week, to grow as a community. These meetings can include anything from a vigorous hour-long Bible study to a Skee-Ball session followed by prayer. The purpose of a LifeGroup is to unite individuals in order to forge genuine connections and support one another as they pursue Jesus together.
It’s possible that the earlier sections felt difficult. Fortunately, LifeGroups provide a less embarrassing alternative to awkwardly text or contact someone to ask them if they’d like to meet together, making it easier to establish and maintain relationships. Regular meetings are already built in! Find out more about LifeGroups and sign up, in person or virtually.
