How to Improve Every Relationship in Your Life

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Humans are social creatures that thrive around others. Even the biggest of loners have a few people that they enjoy connecting with. This means that we have to work hard on developing good relationships with those around us, including our family, friends, lovers, coworkers and bosses.

Each relationship is unique. They each require you to tackle them in different ways to keep them going. Your relationship with your mother won’t be the same as your relationship with your boss, for example. Navigating these different relationships requires effort and time. How you connect with others varies, but there are some common things that each relationship needs to flourish.

No matter what relationship you want to improve, these tips will help you maintain the relationship and get more out of it. Here are some ways that you can make each of your relationships a little more genuine.

Understand others' struggles.

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Everyone has something going on with them behind closed doors that you don’t know about, whether it be a sick parent, a stressful job, or a broken marriage. These stressors can make people act out inappropriately, and we all have off days. Instead of getting angry at the relationship, try to reach out to them and see if something else is going on. Cut the person some slack and give them the benefit of the doubt instead of causing a fight. This gives the person an opportunity to apologize and explain the things that might be going on with them. This also helps them to build trust with you, and feel like they are valued and loved by you.

Get out of the house.

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Our society has fallen into the habit of having all communication through the phone, email or social media. While these tools can be great for relationships, they don’t beat out spending time with someone one-on-one. Instead of coming up with excuses of why you don’t want to do something, just go do it! Go enjoy that dinner with a friend you haven’t heard from in a while, or make the drive to visit and out-of-town relative. Spending time with others in person will improve your overall relationship with them because you will get to know them on a deeper level. Getting out and about also improves your own mental health, making you happier. This in turn makes you a better person to be friends with.