Relationship Tips

Relationship tips are necessary to ensure that you're giving as well as getting the best out of your involvement with others.

Everybody has relationships. Some are bad, good, mediocre, exciting, tense, loving and so much more. One thing is for certain--great relationships are key to a person's happiness.

There's a common saying that people in love don't get colds. And loving relationships can make even the most unpleasant of people happy. Having great relationships improves the quality of your life. It's important to learn how to recognize what makes someone a good friend and also how to be one.

Healthy relationships can really boost a person's mental, emotional, even physical state, whereas unhealthy even toxic relationships can be the cause of frustration, unhappiness and depression. You must strive to seek out the qualities in people that you believe are important in being a good friend, and you must also return the favor. For instance, if loyalty is an important quality in your friends, then you must also master this quality and show your loyalty to others. Others will recognize this quality in you and want to treat you as well as you treat them. It's a win-win situation

Our top ten relationship tips will help you to begin nurturing the people in your life and your relationship with them. Whether you're looking to improve things between you and your best friend, sibling or partner, these relationship tips can work for you.

Remember that it takes two to make things work in relationships, so get ready to take a look at yourself and see how you can take these relationship tips and include them in your overall self improvement.

1. Be clear about who your friends are. Divide people you know into categories, "Family," "Close Friends," "Acquaintances," and "Work Colleagues." Being clear on who your friends are and which group they belong to will help you determine how much quality time you spend with them. This will help you to realize who gets priority in terms of quality time with you. You'll know not to waste time with people who you may not necessarily be interested in building anything with.

2. Clean up your act. If you're often late or cancelling your plans with your friends at the last minute, then stop. Failing to live up to your commitments tells people that you don't respect them or their time.

3. Be honest without hurting the other person's feelings. Don't lie to get out of an event you don't want to go to. Tell your friends or spouses that you don't want to attend their event and tell them why. Put it to them gently if you think they may be upset with you, but don't lie to get out of something.

4. Don't try to be a people-pleaser. We've known a lot of people who have tried to be all things to all people and there's always the same result: it doesn't work. Save your time and energy and be yourself. The ones who love you are your real friends, the ones who don't approve or like you aren't. You don't want the latter group in your life.

5. Don't gossip. This can be especially difficult in the workforce, but essential to having a stress-free work environment. When you don't gossip, it frees up your energy to discuss important things with your friends and loved ones. In other words, speak about people as though they can hear you at all times.

6. Be generous. It's become a cliche but it's true: treat others how you would like to be treated. Nothing will make others appreciate you more than this relationship tip.

7. Listen. Listen. Listen. Sometimes it's the best thing you can do. Friends aren't always looking for a quick fix to their problem, they may just want to share something with you. If they are looking for advice from you, be sure to really listen without interrupting before you give them your opinion.

8. Give as much as you take. If your friends are constantly inviting you over (or you constantly invite yourself over!), return the favor and host an event. Your friends will feel like you're carrying your weight and appreciate you for it.

9. Communicate. If something is bothering you, let your friend/partner know about it. Do this without insulting or yelling at the other person. You might want to say something like, "I love you and really value our relationship, which is why I need to let you know that something is bothering me." Then gently let them know what is bothering you and how you think it can be fixed. Do this calmly. Your friend/partner may be upset at first, but if they value the relationship, they'll listen to what you have to say and work out a solution with you.

10. Set boundaries. Make sure that you set healthy boundaries with people. Go back to relationship tip #1 where you divided your friends into groups and set boundaries for each group. For instance, your co-workers shouldn't be calling you at home past a certain hour (unless it's an emergency). If you have a difficult time finding alone time (or down time as we like to call it), then pick a date night for yourself, inform your spouse and commit to it. Setting boundaries is one of the healthiest things you can do for youself, making it the most important of the relationship tips. Use it with the others and you'll see improvements in your relationships.

We'll be including more information on dealing with unhealthy relationships shortly, but feel that it's important to mention that unhealthy relationships should not be tolerated in order to maintain your sanity, mental health (sometimes physcial health), and overall happiness and productivity. If you are experiencing any type of toxic relationship, then end it immediately. If somebody is making you feel bad, then they're not your friend and you need to stop any involvement and communication with them.

And of course, in order to have healthy relationships, you must also continuously work on building your self esteem.

We'll be including sections on keeping love alive, fun dating ideas, going solo, as well as recommendations of relationship books.

For our latest relationship article, check out our five simple steps on dealing with breaking up with your significant other.

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