Still on our Mind The GAP relationship series on Friendship as one of the pillars to build strong and harmonious relationships on.
“Anybody can sympathize with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathize with a friend’s success.” ―Oscar Wilde
Here are some practical tips to build friendship in your relationship.
1) Know your spouse (partner) well- Genuinely Learn about them to meet their specific needs
2) Practice “positive sentiment override.” – Commit to outdo your spouse with positive thoughts, words and deeds.
For example, make a list all of the things you admire and appreciate about your spouse; consciously look out for and notice your spouse doing good stuff and compliment them for doing these things.
3) Focus ONLY on, grow and expand your spouse’s strengths
4) Have friendly conversations; not conversation based on roles of wife, mother, cook, housekeeper; husband, father, provider, paymaster etc and the responsibilities of these roles.
5) Make and honor promises to each other
6) Constantly review your Spouse’s life and focus on the interesting parts
7) know your differences and turn them into blessings of completeness
Rate yourself in each of these 7 components above on a scale of 0 – 10 (0 being very poor and 10 being excellent). Then make a commitment to improve your scores.
“A strong friendship doesn’t need daily conversation or being together. As long as the relationship lives in the heart, true friends never part.”—Anonymous
More practical tips tomorrow, look out for them. What are your thoughts on our Mind The Gap series so far? I’d love to read from you in the comment section and please share some of your own practical tips with me.
Don’t forget to register to attend our Mind The Gap X – Family and Finances master class on the 4th of June, 2016. Here, we will look at relationships, family and finances from a holistic point of view.
The Catalyst, Lanre Olusola
