More Important

A survey by the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy found that 70% of individuals want to enhance or improve their relationships with those they care about. A Pew Research survey found that over 60% of individuals believe that having strong relationships is critical to overall happiness and fulfillment in life.

As someone who has studied relationships for most of my life, this comes as no surprise. What is puzzling to me is that most people do not intentionally work on their relationships. We tend to go through life thinking that things will magically get better or will simply improve over time. Unfortunately, that is not true. Without making a consistent choice to grow our understanding of others, our relationships will diminish in depth and meaning.

The good news is that you can choose to change the trajectory of your interactions with those you care about. It is not rocket science but it does take effort. The first step is deciding to treat others as if they are more important than your pride or ego. Putting the needs of those you love above yourself is the opposite of what we see and hear in today’s self-centered culture.

I challenge you to take the first step toward improving your relationships. Think about who you need to treat as if they are more important than yourself. Make a conscious decision to show them. It can start with something as simple as taking the time to listen or giving them the attention they desire from you.

When we put others above ourselves, we will make a difference.

Larry