Are you a good friend?
A great life…….is made up of great relationships that have been built, nurtured, and grown over the years. There is an unspoken reciprocity to them that allows for a natural give and take, that never leaves one or the other feeling neglected. Time can lapse between connections and yet that time doesn’t alter the integrity or strength of the love between two friends. We have many forms of friendship in our lives…..with our spouses, with our friends, and with our co-workers, and each one of them nourishes our spirit in a unique way. The more accepting we are of the people in our lives, the greater our capacity to build strong and enduring relationships that will endure the test of time.
At times there may seem to be an imbalance in that one or the other needs more from the relationship…..and as long as the ballast is there, it rights itself and levels out again. At the core of any relationship is our ability to be honest with ourselves. If we are pretending that all is well, if we suck the energy out of the room when we engage, if we constantly take but never give then we do not have a relationship, we have an arrangement. People who are not honest with themselves about their friendships, will see it reflected in the quality of their lives. So take inventory, and be sure that those people who mean so very much to you…..know it. Be sure that you are making deposits in those accounts…..because you cannot make withdrawals from an empty account.
Stephen Covey said “In relationships, the little things are the big things. If I make deposits into an emotional bank account with you through courtesy, kindness, honesty, and keeping my commitments to you, I build up a reserve. Your trust in me becomes higher, and I can call upon that trust many times if I need to. I can even make mistakes, and that trust level, that emotional reserve, will compensate for it. My communication may not be clear, but you’ll get my meaning anyway. You won’t make me “an offender for a word” When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective.”