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Hey, Valentine’s Day is here, and it is the perfect occasion to express love and revive your relationships!
Love is in the air, so how could I not write about relationships 🙂
Do you also want to improve relations with your known or loved ones?
I’m not only talking about the relationship with your boyfriend or girlfriend.
It could be the kinship with any of your family members, professional association with colleagues, or even with friends.
All these relationships often face challenges and undergo disturbing phases – it happens with almost everybody.
However, you can always resolve the issues and better your relationship.
Even if you do not have any relationship issues, you can always develop your relationship and take it to the next level.
To make that happen, you need to understand the basics of a relationship.
You should also know the ingredients and the perfect recipe for a perfect relationship to make it last forever.
So, let’s cook the Valentine’s Day love meal today to sweeten your relationships. 🙂
“Eighty percent of life’s satisfaction comes from meaningful relationships,” ~ Brian Tracy
The Components Of A Good Relationship
Building a relationship is no rocket science. Every human being learns to create a good relationship with experience, knowledge, and time.
Dictionary may define a relationship as the way in which two or more people or things are connected or the state of being connected.
However, relationships are more than mere connections.
A relationship is a system of mutual commitment that is based on collaboration and reciprocation among the connected people.
This connection depends on the involved people, their subjective and objective thoughts and behaviors.
Here are some points that are regarded as the fundamentals of a good relationship. I’ve mentioned some of these in my earlier posts, but they deserve a mention here too.
“We can improve our relationships with others by leaps and bounds if we become encouragers instead of critics,” ~ Joyce Meyer
Communication
Yes, communication tops the elements of a relationship – it is the key to better your relationship.
The ship of your relations will sink if there’s no communication between you and your partner, colleague, friend, spouse, or relative.
Communication is like oxygen for a relationship. What will happen if you stop breathing?
You will suffocate, and then probably die!
This is what happens to a relationship when there is no communication between the people involved in it.
If you are wondering how to better a relationship, first check if the communication channels are open.
Communication can be symbolic, non-verbal, and verbal. It can be indirect or direct, offline or online.
However, the most effect form is the verbal face-to-face communication if the members are capable of engaging in this way.
For more information, read this post: Poor Communication Leads To Relationship Problems
“Be honest, brutally honest. That is what’s going to maintain relationships.” ~ Lauryn Hill
Friendship
It is not necessary that you become friend’s with only friends.
In fact, even for a marriage to work, the spouses need to be friends with each other. Friendship is the thriving ground where love blooms.
Best friends are generally honest and open. They trust one another and share each other’s secrets.
As friends, you are always equal and ready to help. You stand for each other without expecting anything in return.
To be friends, you need to spend more time with each other. Doing this will increase the chance of bettering your relationship.
So, are you planning relationship revival recreation this Valentine’s Day and ahead!
Make your spouse your best friend if you are married, and see your issues fly away. 🙂
Read more on how to become best friends with your spouse.
“Best relationship: Talk like best friends, play like children, argue like husband and wife, protect each other like brother and sister.” ~ Unknown
Respect
This may sound a bit old-fashioned or off track. However, the truth is everybody expects and needs respect.
Respect is the acknowledgment of the person as a whole. Mutual respect is the sign of accepting each other, including the differences.
The relationships where people are not respected often run into trouble.
Disrespect hurts your ego and self-esteem. This is the most basic reciprocation you expect in any relationship.
In fact, you’d love to be with someone who respects you, wouldn’t you?
If respect is coupled with love, then you have a strong bonded relationship that keeps bettering itself with time.
Know more ways to better a relationship from this post: 10 Ways to Improve Relationships with Kindness.
“The bonds that link your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.” ~ Richard Bach
Understanding
Understanding is being in agreement. It is the expression of support and sympathy for the other person.
That is how you can relate better to another person and create a relationship.
Understanding helps you increase your tolerance levels. It makes you tolerant of the individual differences in terms of culture, tradition, lifestyle, and beliefs.
Individuals may differ in their thoughts and perspectives. Understanding is the bridge they can develop to cover up the differences.
The process of understanding also develops trust between the individuals. Trust will enable you to work as a team.
So, what are you doing to create and celebrate the understanding with your known and loved ones? Have you planned something for this Valentine Day? 🙂
“We have to recognize that there cannot be relationships unless there is a commitment, unless there is loyalty unless there is love, patience, persistence.” ~ Cornel West
Love
Finally, it is love that cements the bond of your relationship. Love is what we generally associate with Valentine’s Day.
Love is actually a kind and benevolent positive energy that is present in all forms of good relationships.
So, love is not only between lovers and spouses. You can also celebrate this Valentine’s Day with your family. Read this post to know how. 🙂
However, if you want to understand the love between two people, then you should read this post: Understanding True Love between Two People.
But you know what; everybody is a campaigner of love. Even you are a love teacher and use it in all your dealings with people!
If you do not understand what I am talking about, read this post – Are You a Love Teacher?
You’ll certainly enjoy that post, as you all can relate to it.
Now, how can you have a better relationship if you are not a love teacher or do not employ love in your interpersonal dealings?
“Love is what is left in a relationship after all the selfishness is taken out.” ~ Nick Richardson
Recapping the essential ingredients or components of a good relationship are communication, friendship, respect, understanding, and love.
Why Does A Relationship Go Bad
You do not have to make any guesses here.
The most basic reasons why people have relationship problems are –
- Lack of communication
- Lack of friendship
- Lack of respect
- Lack of understanding
- Lack of love
It could be all of these factors, or just one or some of them together.
These shortcomings in a relationship often give rise to ego problems, hatred for each other, feelings of revenge, lack of trust, and negative presumptions, etc.
If these issues are left unattended, they aggravate with time and create bitterness in relationships. People become skeptical of each other. They develop prejudices and negative stereotypes.
Most of the relationship problems are caused because of misunderstandings.
People tend to directly or indirectly – knowingly or unknowingly hurt each other.
They do not want to accept their fault or be the first one to mend the relationship.
You need to transform such a bitter relationship into a better relationship.
This is doable, provided the respective parties involved take conscious, constructive, and corrective actions.
Use this Valentine’s Day to fill your relationship with love, and spice it up with the remaining ingredients of a good relationship, as we discussed above. 🙂
“You do not develop courage by being happy in your relationships every day. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.” ~ Epicurus
Must read: 9 Things You Should Do For a Happy Relationship
30 Ways To Better Your Relationship
Knowing the basics of a good relationship helps us learn how to better our relationships.
There are many things that you can do in many ways to improve your relationship.
I’ll mention them in points; however, this list is not comprehensive. You can always add more to it. For now, this is what you need to do to get started and have a better relationship with anyone.
Understand Yourself
It starts with you. Remember, when you are happy and content with yourself, you are likely to be positive in your thoughts, actions, and relationships. So, you need to –
1. Know yourself
2. Be yourself
3. Have self-confidence and self-esteem
4. Be honest
5. Be giving
This list of personal development can be endless. How can I not mention that you need to love yourself too! Know that you are beautiful and an embodiment of love. 🙂
“To become a better you, you must be positive towards yourself, develop better relationships, embrace the place where you are.” ~ Joel Osteen
Express Yourself
A relationship is also about knowing the other person and doing things for them.
You need to demonstrate your positive feelings and intentions and take the initiative to better your relationship.
6. Know the other person
7. Appreciate and compliment
8. Express gratitude
9. Do Small, random acts of kindness
10. Speak sweet, and smile often
“You never lose by loving. You always lose by holding back.” ~ Barbara de Angelis
Resolve Issues
You should never ignore the problem you face in your relationship.
Address the old issues, clear them out, and be positive.
11. Discuss problems
12. Listen more
13. Apologize if needed
14. Forget and forgive – let it go
15. Don’t keep repeating the blames or nag
“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” ~ Lao Tzu
Strengthen Bond
Once your relationship is repaired, do these to make sure the problems do not reoccur.
16. Keep in touch
17. Nurture your relationship
18. Show mutual respect
19. Reciprocate
20. Fulfill your promises or commitments
“A healthy relationship is built on unwavering trust,” ~ Beau Mirchoff
Maintain Relationship
You need to keep working on your relationship. Keep making the efforts to push it further into the safe zone.
21. Share and care for each other
22. Celebrate each other
23. Identify each other’s relationship needs
24. Cherish moments – past and present
25. Become a trustworthy teammate
Relationship is like an investment, and you can always keep working to better it. The more time and effort you invest in your relationship, the better and stronger it becomes.
“The value of a relationship is in direct proportion to the time that you invest in the relationship.” ~ Brian Tracy
Value Relationships
Value people. Give them your best and gel with them!
26. Engage in entertainment and outings
27. Volunteer together for a social cause
28. Develop people skills and use them
29. Always have open communication
30. Welcome diversity and manage the relationship boundaries
Recapping, you can improve your relationship by knowing yourself, changing and improving yourself, knowing the other person, and expressing your good feelings and intentions.
You also clear the air of conflict if any, apologize if needed, take all required steps to repair proactively and maintain the relationship.
Celebrate your relationship and fill it with happy moments, be there for each other, and take part in confidence and trust building activities.
“In a relationship each person should support the other; they should lift each other up.” ~ Taylor Swift
I am sure you’ve planned your Valentine’s Day to do just that and better your relationships, haven’t you?
Well, I am certainly taking a few hours off to be with my Valentine!! How about you? 🙂
Related Read: 10 Tips For Healthy Relationships in Life
This post makes me think about the Aha!NOW Blog Community (ABC). Relationships are at the core of the community activities here.
We encourage all members to introduce themselves, make friends, reciprocate, and develop relationships.
The members share and care, help and support each other, create trust and bond, celebrate the joys and success of each other.
This is the perfect example of how you better your relationships.
Know more about the ABC here or register here to experience quality relationship building.
“If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships – the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.” ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
Wishing ALL of you a very Happy Valentine’s Day!
Over To You –
What do you do to better your relationships? Which is the most important component of a relationship? What is your Valentine Day resolution for improving relationships? Share in the comments.
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