Prosperous Relationships

I wrote an article entitled “True Prosperity”. True prosperity is where you are prosperous in every area of your life not just your finances but also in your health, marriage, relationships, spirit, and your mind. If any area is lacking you do not have true prosperity.

I am going to write a series of articles on the nuances of true prosperity to give you the reader a deeper understanding of the subject. I will take each area one by one and expound on each to give you the reader clarity in these areas.

The area I will focus on first will be how to build and maintain prosperous relationships. Relationships are a key component in life. To be successful you have to know how to relate to people. As it is said, “no man is an island”. You will come in contact with countless of different types of people every day you should know how to deal with them.

This is an area I see day in and day out where the majority of people falter and they wonder why things are not working out for them the way they should. You can’t be rude and expect nice. You get what you give out. As you sow so shall you reap.

How can we build and maintain prosperous relationships with anyone we come in contact with?
1. Learn to be tolerant of other people. Each of us has different backgrounds. We have grown up in different parts of the country or world depending on who you meet. We have gone to different schools, and we know all schools are not the same. We have been taught different values some maybe not at all. Because of these different factors no one is going to think just like you. No one is going to look at situations just like you. We are all different and unique that’s what makes the world go round.

2. Learn to be courteous. What does it cost you to be courteous? It is just the act of being considerate to others. When walking towards someone smile and say hi. Help someone who may be struggling with an item. Let someone go before you in the grocery line that may have fewer items than you. Hold the door open for someone don’t let it fly back and hit them in the face. If you’re a man get up and let a woman sit down when there are no other seats available. Learn to say thank you. Today’s society acts like courtesy is a weakness. No it is humaneness.

3. Learn to have compassion. You cannot treat everyone the same. Learn to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Reach out. Some people just want someone to lend an ear to just listen to them. You don’t have to be a counselor a lot of the times a person’s answer will come to them while they are talking. Don’t look down on someone because they didn’t have the same advantages you had growing up. It does not make them less than you. It is what’s on the inside that counts not material possessions.

4. Learn respect for others. No relationship will survive without mutual respect for one another. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Yet, this is one area where I see as a society we vastly need to improve in. Everywhere you go you encounter people disrespecting one another. I see a culture where the young disrespect the elderly. They tout their wisdom as being out of date. They are crass and rude to them instead of giving them the dignity they deserve. What has happened to the yes sir or ma’am or no sir or ma’am. What has happened to the thank you or no thank you. Without respect a relationship will wither and die like a flower without water. You will say anything to one another or do anything to one another. Once respect is lost the relationship is lost.

5. Learn to compromise. Understand that you are not always right and the majority of people who think they are usually are dead wrong. You must learn to give and take in any relationship. There must be a balance. Anyone to be a giver or taker all the time is unhealthy to a relationship. You must come to a meeting of the minds. We are all different and that is what brings us together in the first place. To compromise is not weak. Trying to get your way all the time is. A continuance of compromises must be made for any relationship to continue to flourish.

6. Learn to understand the other person. Get to know them. Even in a casual relationship you may not come to understand them completely but you can come to a level of understanding. Too many people have cultivated an, I do not care attitude. This is how I am and if you don’t like so what. That is a sad commentary for a sad life. Usually that is just fear talking trying to give the impression of strength when in reality they are weak. You have to make it a point to learn where people are coming from. Just don’t look at the surface dig deeper. You may come to realize that the person you think is a jerk is a cool person unde
eath. In any relationship you must look beyond the exterior into the interior where the real person dwells.

7. Learn to forgive. You have to learn to be able to forgive another person for any slight or wrong. Unforgiveness will keep you in a rut. The sad part is that the person whom you are not forgiving has gone on with their life while you are stuck in a place of offence. It is proven that harboring ill feelings will make you sick. Forgive and forget it. Harboring ill will toward another is a burden you must release. Purge unforgiveness from your life and become a happy healthier you.

8. Learn to love. Of all the others this one is the most important. All the others hinge on this one. Just having love for people will get you far in this world. Everyone and I mean everyone is just looking for someone to accept them and love them for who they are. Where the majority of people go wrong is that they are always trying to change someone. Change yourself and your attitude first and that person you are trying to change will do so right before your eyes. Having a love for people will get you put at the top of any list. You will always be invited to any function. You will always come to the attention of those in power. Because everyone wants to be loved and they like having loving people around them.

If you will take these tidbits of information to heart learn to be tolerant, learn to be courteous, learn to have compassion, learn to have respect, learn to compromise, learn to understand, learn to forgive, and last but not least learn to love and prosperous relationships will truly be yours.