What do you consider as your priceless treasures in the world? Without any hesitation, I would really say that my greatest treasures are the relationships I have and keep for without these, everything that I do and achieve will be meaningless. Needless to say, if I am very careful with the material things that I have, I am especially protective of my relationships. Although maintaining such relationships is a challenge particularly when these people have different values and viewpoints from me, I do not use it as a reason to neglect them. Every relationship is two-way, so it is my responsibility to keep it working as much as the other person’s. With this in mind, I do whatever it takes to maintain the following roles with the people that matter:
- A trustworthy spouse. I always make sure to have open communication with my wife. Among all other acts of love, being transparent is the primary act that I maintain in my relationship with my spouse. I treat her as my other half who, aside from God, must know everything about me, what I think, or feel, and what is going on in every aspect of my life. And, like how open I am with her, I also make her feel safe to be open with me. In other words, as simple as it may seem, our open communication with each other is the foundation of the trust we have in our relationship. It is what keeps us grow together and not apart.
- A supportive family member. Even though I live away from our families with my wife, I do my best to make our families feel loved by making an effort to communicate and support them in any way I can. For me, distance should not be a hindrance to making loved ones feel loved and cared for.
- A reliable friend. I may not be able to meet my friends often, but I make sure that they can rely on me to listen to them, offer them pieces of advice if they need some, and help them in whatever way I can. Regardless of my busy schedule, I also do my best to meet them when they need me or even just to catch up.
- An encouraging coach. The relationship I want to maintain with my teams and valued clients is not the typical one since they have become a part of my life, and they allowed me to be part of their respective careers. They have become a family to me. This is the reason that I constantly communicate with them and continuously motivate them.
Above all else, my relationship with the Creator is the number one key that helps me make these different relations sustain. As a human being, who sometimes fall short in understanding the differences and shortcomings of other people, I can only turn to Him to enlighten and guide me to do the right thing and have more patience and love in my heart despite it all. More importantly, since I can’t control how they think, feel, or react, God is the only one whom I can rely on to guide them the way He does with me.
I am not claiming to be an expert in keeping relationships nor am I saying that I handle each perfectly. The message I want to deliver here is that we can find ways to make the different relationships we have work.
How about you? How do you sustain your relationships? Feel free to share your experience or thoughts in the comment section below.
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