Read & write

Building healthy relationships with others is one of the most important things that everyone should focus on. Sometimes it is hard because people go about it the wrong way and wind up breaking relationships instead of building them. A lot of times, something unintentional causes this breakdown, and irreparable damage is done. Relationships need to be strengthened in order weather storms that come along. People are not going to getting along with their family or friends all the time, but if the relationships have a good foundation, small rifts can always be mended.

A relationship takes two people. It does not matter who those two people are: a husband and a wife; a parent and a child; a boss and an employee. In any relationship, there are key elements that must exist in order to make this relationship strong.

One is mutual understanding of what is important to the other person. You may be working on something important at home, but what if your young child interrupts you and wants you to look at something great that he has built out of Legos? Do you tell him that you are busy and that you don't have time to look at it now? Or do you take a few minutes and let him show you his masterpiece that he is so proud of? If you chose the latter, you are telling your child that what is important to him is important to you, too. That goes a very long way in building your relationship with your child.

Little things that you do for each other in a relationship is important. Small acts of courtesy and kindness add up to a big deal. It shows that you are paying attention to each other's needs, no matter how small.

Always keep your commitments. This is a very important element in a relationship. Keeping your promises build up trust. Broken trust is one of the toughest things to heal, and sometimes it never does. Take your commitments seriously. A relationship built on trust is one of the strongest that you can achieve.

Communicate and be clear of your expectations from each other. So many relationships break down because of misunderstanding and a lack of communication. When expectations are not clear, they are usually not met, and this leads to disappointment. Disappointment lead to a loss of confidence in the other person. This is not good in a relationship.

When you make a mistake, be sure to apologize with sincerity. Do not try to justify why you did it. Pride is often the culprit behind the lack of apologies. Some people feel like apologizing will make them look weak. On the contrary, it takes great courage to apologize. It shows that you are not hiding behind any excuses.

Maintaining strong and healthy relationships will give you rewards many times over. Remember this advice. Build up the relationship with the people whom you care about, and your life will be rich beyond measure.