Building healthy relationships is vital to your well-being. Studies show supportive connections and relationships with others improve your mental and physical health and overall life satisfaction. A loving network of people aids in coping with stress and personal challenges. Working on your relationships offers opportunities for self-improvement and improves your sense of belonging. If you’re wondering how to foster strong bonds with others, here are some fundamental tips on how to do so.
1. Work on your self-esteem
Self-esteem is essential to personal development and allows you to grow your connections. By having a positive self-image, you feel confident and secure in yourself. When you feel good about yourself, you bring openness, authenticity, and vulnerability to your relationships. Positive self-esteem allows you to feel comfortable healthily communicating your needs, as well as increased receptiveness to the needs of others.
While good self-esteem aids personal development, it also enables a more positive outlook. Happiness is contagious; others want to connect with those who are happy and solid in who they are. Unfortunately, trust issues coincide with poor self-esteem, and by improving your self-image, you can improve your ability to trust other people, improving your relationships.
2. Practice your listening skills
Listening skills are cardinal to relationships because they enable you to understand and empathize with the people in your life. If someone implied they don’t feel understood by you or you suspect your listening skills need improvement, this is a great place to start to improve your connections. Practice active listening by fully engaging in a conversation. Show empathy for what the other person is saying and ask for clarification whenever you suspect you misunderstood something. Creating a safe space for you and the other person to discuss openly and honestly builds trust and allows for a deeper understanding of each other, growing your relationship.
3. Accept your differences
Differences between people are what allow us to grow and expand our perspectives. You’ll never meet someone exactly like yourself, so the sooner you learn to accept the differences between you and others, the better. To welcome the differences in your relationships, practice empathy to help see things from a different point of view. You should also practice sharing your thoughts and feelings and learn to accept the other person’s opinions. Additionally, compromise is pivotal in growing relationships, and compromise will help you move past your differences while finding a middle ground. Accepting differences means seeing these as opportunities to grow and learn. If you find it difficult to tolerate the differences of others, seek counselling for additional skills.
4. Communication is key
Communication is vital to every relationship. Without communication, we can’t expect to expand our network of people and foster strong relationships. Good communication skills allow you to express yourself and feel understood by the people important to you. Relationships you want to grow and improve require vulnerability shared by you and the other person. For example, if you struggle with a sexual disorder like erectile dysfunction, you should plan to share it with the person you’re in a relationship with. By sharing your experiences with your intimate partner, you allow them to understand better how it might affect your relationship and help you with coping skills or finding treatment options like Viagra or Sildenafil.
While it’s important to be vulnerable with the people you’re in romantic relationships with, sharing with your close friends is equally important. You may not feel comfortable sharing your sexual health struggles, but instead, talk about childhood experiences or other things that have made you into who you are. Through these deep conversations, you and the other person feel understood within the relationship, may find commonalities, and grow a stronger connection.
5. Give praise
Praise is a great way to show appreciation to the people you love. Giving and receiving compliments is challenging for some people, but it’s an essential skill to build and maintain. To practice giving praise, be specific and sincere about what you liked and why. You should also aim to give praise as soon as possible to improve the effectiveness of your compliment. By showing gratitude for another person’s actions, you help them feel appreciated. When practising giving praise, don’t just do it every once in a while. Instead, show appreciation regularly and consistently to foster a positive and supportive relationship. And ultimately, be honest and avoid exaggeration as it may unintentionally come across as manipulative or inauthentic.
6. Learn how to argue
It’s normal in any relationship for problems to arise. Learning how to argue can turn challenging situations into positive opportunities for growth. To effectively and healthily argue, practice staying calm. If you feel the tension rising, step back before continuing a difficult conversation. Use your listening skills to help you understand the other person’s point of view and stick to the topic at hand. While in an argument, avoid personal attacks and name-calling, as it never helps a situation. Lastly, use “I” statements to avoid making accusations or misplacing blame while expressing your feelings. For example, “I feel insecure when you don’t text me back” uses an “I” statement to express their feelings. Arguments are natural, but how you argue determines the outcome of your relationships.
7. Consistency & dependability
Being consistent and dependable helps grow your relationships. Building these traits assists you in promoting trust, respect, and a deeper understanding between yourself and another person. Consistency and dependability require keeping your promises and commitments. Reliability shows you are there for the people in your life when needed, showing you’re someone they can count on. You should also practice flexibility by being willing to adjust plans as needed. Accountability is also noteworthy in improving your relationships. When you make a mistake, show you can own up to your actions and the consequences. Doing so will make it easier to make amends and put difficult situations behind you.
Improve yourself to improve your relationships
Being there for the people around you is essential to fostering healthy relationships. Comfortability in who you are allows others to feel just as comfortable around you. Improving your listening skills and learning to accept your differences are fundamental to building strong relationships, but so is learning to have a healthy argument. By expressing yourself and allowing others to do the same, you’re on the right track to improving your relationships with the important people in your life.
Author Bio: Ashley Nielsen
Ashley Nielsen earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration Marketing at Point Loma Nazarene University. She is a freelance writer who loves to share knowledge about general business, marketing, lifestyle, wellness, and financial tips. During her free time, she enjoys being outside, staying active, reading a book, or diving deep into her favourite music.