The Secret to Happier Relationships
It might be a sensitive subject for us to explore but how do you feel about your current, closest relationship? I know. It can be an uncomfortable topic to discuss but it’s vitally important because our close relationships impact so deeply on our health, our happiness and our wellbeing. And if modern research tells us anything about our ability to form fulfilling relationships, there’s a very high probability that you’re feeling dissatisfied or even trapped within your present circumstances. Why is this? Why are so many relationships failing to live up to their potential? And, more importantly, what can we do about it?
To better understand the issue, it’s helpful to recognise that humans generate an enormous amount of emotional insecurity around their private lives. We’re conditioned from early childhood to expect disappointment, difficulties and rejection. To compound the problem, divorced and unhappy parents often leave a permanent imprint on their offspring that teaches them that the home is not always a safe, secure or predictable place to live. These beliefs easily spill over into adult life. We gravitate towards partners who reflect our early childhood experiences, whether those memories supported our happiness or cast a shadow over our expectations.
One of the most potent ways to resolve these negative tendencies is to think about the most important relationship of all. And that’s the relationship you have with yourself.
The moment that you begin to accept yourself and offer heartfelt kindness, love and support to how you are right now, the less dependent you will be on others for your emotional wellbeing. This profound shift in attitude creates space in your life for much healthier connections to others. Self-acceptance is deeply empowering. The emptiness that can leave a human heart feeling unbearably lonely can only be filled when self-acceptance offers a sense of completeness. Unconditional love might be an extremely rare commodity in our world but its power to heal and restore the human heart should be applied every single day to yourself. That’s when your life, your relationships and your inner peace, calm and happiness will flourish and blossom.