How to Achieve Peaceful Relationships in 5 Steps
We do not live alone in this world. In one way or another, every day we experience a series of interactions and relationships that can be a source of support, care, and love. We receive these sources from our family, colleagues, friends, and the society. In short, we all depend on a variety of people, and sometimes those relationships can be quite a lot to manage.
Here are 5 steps you can take to build peaceful relationships with others, so you can build meaningful relationships with people you really care about and feel better about yourself too!
“Living interdependently also means giving to, receiving from, and sharing with others what you have to offer. It means relying on and trusting others to meet the needs in your life.”
Would you engage in a social experiment where you were asked to spend 30 days in a small, dark room with no social interaction, and the reward would be a million dollars? Would you take that opportunity?
Social isolation and extreme seclusion can have countless negative effects on our minds and bodies. One of the reasons that living in isolation is difficult is because humans are social creatures. Many people who have lived in isolated environments – such as researchers stationed in Antarctica – report that solitude can be the most difficult part of the job.
Loneliness can have a negative impact on both our mental and physical health. Socially isolated people are less able to cope with stressful situation and are more susceptible to health issues.
That said, living in interdependence with others is almost inevitable, or at least encouraged. Interdependence means living in a way that not only interacts with others, but also participates in them.
Living interdependently also means giving to, receiving from, and sharing with others what you have to offer. It means relying on and trusting others to meet the needs in your life.
Sometimes, however, these relationships can lead to conflict, misunderstanding, or disagreement. First, we must acknowledge that we live in a world where there are people with different characters and personalities. Second, we must learn to navigate these relationships so that we don’t feel burned out.
Here are 5 steps you can take to build peaceful relationships with others, so you can have meaningful relationships with people you really care about and feel better about yourself too!
1. Managing Conflict
Almost every relationship has some kind of conflict. Conflict isn’t a problem, but the way it’s handled can bring people together or tear them apart. Poor communication skills, disagreements, and misunderstandings can cause resentment and distance, but they can also be the beginning of a stronger relationship and a happier future.
Healthy communication is critical to maintaining long-term relationships. If you use healthy communication methods, you are likely to find common ground even when you disagree. This can help strengthen your relationship over time.
Some of the tips to keep in mind:
- Be direct, but do not blame the other person for problems and do not be overly negative.
- Try to look at your relationship problems from an external, objective perspective. This means that you should limit your constructive discussion to one issue at a time.
2. Honesty
Being honest with someone, whether it’s your partner or someone else, doesn’t mean you have to tell them everything you think or know.
Still, there are many good reasons to keep things to yourself. You may not want to share a hurtful opinion, a private thought, or information that would cause you to break a promise to a friend.
You can also give vague answers if you don’t want to go into detail.
Think about the importance of being honest in your relationships.
Ask yourself, “Am I hiding something or keeping something to myself?” if you want to keep something to yourself. – That’s different.
3. Handling Expectations
Expectations can change the way a relationship works, setting the tone and making it feel safe and supportive. However, it’s important to know the difference between reasonable and unreasonable expectations so you don’t feel bad about unmet needs or impossible demands.
You can learn to manage expectations by using some of the following:
- Being able to talk openly with the person.
- Respecting each other’s differences.
- Helping each other through difficult times.
- Agreeing on what is okay and what is not are all important parts of a healthy relationship.
4. Check How You Are Feeling
Stop for a moment and think about how you feel. Sometimes we don’t care about how we really feel and let our mind rule our heart, or we lose touch with our feelings.
Try meditating so that when you feel like you’re reacting instead of responding, you can stop and check your mood for a few minutes. Breathe in, breathe out!
5. Expressing Your Needs
If both people’s needs are met, the relationship does well; if not, it breaks down. When you tell your partner what you want, you show that you care about them and their role in the relationship.
To meet each other’s needs, you must be able to communicate well and be willing to give and take.
We all have needs and expressing them in a healthy way is part of having a strong, loving and respectful relationship with ourselves and others.
Here are some things to keep in mind when trying to get our point across:
- Accept that we cannot force other people to do what we want them to do.
- Respect other people as much as you respect yourself.
We hope these tips will help you develop healthy relationship skills and a peaceful relationship with yourself, friends and loved ones. Meditation is one way that can help you build self-awareness to create authentic relationships!
If you are looking for someone to guide you on your journey, contact us at hello@iammichaelteh.com or follow us on social media @iammichaelteh.
Michael Teh, 7th March 2023.
Michael Teh is a meditation coach devoted to a personal mission of awakening more people to higher consciousness. He teaches self-realization through meditation, qigong, yoga and philosophy.
Michael Teh Signature Workshop: The Essence of Life Series explores meditation as a powerful tool to realize our true potential. Michael has designed multiple workshops in this series to support his participants’ self-realization journey. Workshop Series 1 is currently running every few months on-ground in Kuala Lumpur, titled “Knowledge of The Self and Fundamentals of Meditation”.
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