Improve Relationships
Improving relationships in life can mean the difference between a sad life and a happy life; it’s that simple and direct. While this blog talks a lot on making money, let us not forget why we want more money. In the minds of most, more money equals more happiness. But is that always true? The answer is obviously no. We all heard about these stories of rich people who are sad or suffer from depression, or the numerous celebrities who have so many problems that happiness is nowhere to be found. All this to say that more money is not the only element in the equation when it comes to happiness.
Another thing I noticed in the last few years is the number of people who told me that the happiest people who they have met in their life were simply ordinary people; people who don’t have millions or don’t live in luxury. By getting more interested by these stories, I realized that all these people had 1 thing in common, they all had great relationships!
You probably heard this over and over, and I think people do not really understand it. To develop relationships, you need to be a good listener! To have a great relationship, it means to be not a good, but a great listener. It also means to not take it to the extreme, and that is on both sides. Here’s what I mean. In a conversation, we all want to tell our stories and talk about us, but the fact is that it will not improve your relationship. Constantly talking about yourself and not caring about what the other person says will just destroy any chance of developing your friendship. Here’s the other extreme. Being a good listener does not mean not talking at all; that is plain boring. Being the most expert pure listener who understands and cares about the other person but doesn’t talk will not improve your relationship. Being a good listener means to listen and care and also share a little of you to make a perfect blend.
Another technique is to use humor. Humor is the uncontestable technique to build relationships. We all like to laugh and it’s entertaining. We even pay to watch comedians. One question has always remained, are we born funny or do we become funny? The answer is BOTH. Some people from a very young age are able to pull jokes out of thin air and find funny lines over and over. Other struggle to even say a single funny comment during their whole year; but this doesn’t mean that you can not learn to be funny. Being funny can learned, but it takes practice. How? Go out with friends as much as possible and force yourself to make funny lines; look around, analyze the environment, think about the latest happenings, listen and concentrate to the conversation. You can improve yourself at everything in life with practice, and being funny can be improved too. Some are born with that ability, and some aren’t, but we all have the ability to be funny.