Day 14 - of 30 Days to a Simplier Life

Keeping Your Relationships Simple

1. Be patient with the people in your life: * Be a good listener.

One of the major causes of misunderstandings in relationships is impatience. Being impatient keeps you from figuring our why people do what they do. Try to understand or at least consider that they may have some things going on in their life that has nothing to do with you but is affecting their behavior. You can simplify your relationships this way and possibly even help someone.

2. Create ease around you:

Try to treat people you meet in the same manner you do one of your best friends. Be natural and friendly. That is the best first impression you can leave. Be interested in them even if you are meeting them for the first time, let them feel at home with you.

3. Respect individual differences without being judgmental.

People don't deserve to be respected only because they are older than or better placed than you alone, they should be respected because they are people just like you with emotions, vision and hope. Whatever their social status, however they look, from the person in your office to a person on the street keep a level of respect for them as they are loved by God just like you are.

4. Learn to be nice:

I love the saying, "Just be nice." You often hear people say, " I like that person because they are nice". They are the people we all like to be around. How do you do this? Being patient with and interested in people helps us to be nice to them. To be successful with people, you will have to accommodate their shortcomings and focus on the positives they bring into your life.

5. Show that you value the other person and make a commitment to spend time together.

We can lose good relationships because of lack of communication. . Make calls, write, and e-mail. We now have so many ways to keep in touch with facebook, blogs and other social sites but one of the best things you can do is physically spend time with your relationships, have fun together.
It takes a great deal of sacrifice to develop a successful relationship, no matter what type of relationship it is but it is a fact that we need to have good relationships in our life to be healthy and happy. This keeps life simple.

"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend". Proverbs 27: 17 (NKJV)