Posts in Relationships
Variety is the Spice of Life

I'm sure that at some point, you've heard someone say the phrase, "Variety is the Spice of Life". It's interesting though that many people who hear this most likely never realize the value behind it, nor the positive effect that variety can have on one's happiness in life.

You may be a creature of habit who always does the same thing over and over again, whatever it is. You may go to the same vacation spot every year, but might not actually be having much fun there anymore.  

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Why Would Respect Have to be Earned?

I've heard some people say that respect is something that has to be earned and not given. I do have to admit that when I hear that, it makes me wonder why why and how they came to believe in that concept.

I come from a different point of view, where I believe that respect should be given to all people right from the beginning- meaning that we should respect everyone and show respect to them right from the beginning. By saying "everyone", I mean all people including our family members, friends and even strangers. 

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Your First Impression Is Usually Right

We all form a first impression of people we come across in life, sometimes within seconds of being exposed to them for the first time. It's a very natural thing that people do, either based on past experiences or their gut instinct or "intuition".

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How Do You Want People To Remember You?

I know that when asked that question, that there are some of you would answer, "Who cares?". Thankfully however, the majority of us do actually care how we will be remembered by others after we die.

In many cases when someone actually does know they are going to die soon (i.e. because of terminal illness or in planning to take one's own life), they go through the process of making peace and "setting things right" with others. They have that golden opportunity to clear things up and to have a more positive exit from this world. They have more of a chance of being remembered in a more positive light after they've died, or at least less negative.

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Mending Fences is a Joint Effort

Mending Fences is when someone repairs their relationship with another person after being estranged or hurt in some way. This repair may not bring the relationship quite back to the way it was before but it eliminates, or at least, eases the negative emotions that existed between the two parties.

There are some cases where a new understanding comes about between the parties and the two individuals (or families) come together with a stronger bond than before. It not only depends on what caused the rift between the two parties and the severity of what happened but it also depends on the willingness of both parties to make amends and move forward. [Read more...]

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Should You Give Someone a Second Chance?

Whether a relationship is a friendship or a romantic one, there will be times when an argument or some other occurrence will test your relationship. Because of this, there are times, that one or both people in the relationship will need to decide whether to give the other person a second chance and hold on to the relationship or to sever ties and end it.

It's up to you to decide what you want to do and nobody else. However,  you need to live with your decision until the next time that something comes up to challenge the relationship again. [Read more...]

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9 Things to Avoid Saying or Doing to a Grieving Person

In my last post, I gave you a list of things you can do to help a person to grieve. Those were things that are very beneficial to people in their time of grief to process their loss and to be able to move forward with their life as effectively as possible.

Today, I am listing 9 things to avoid doing to or saying to a person who has just lost someone very dear to them and is in the process of grieving. Again, I speak from personal experience and I have received the same sentiments back from people who have shared similar experiences to mine. [Read more...]

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How to Help Someone to Grieve After a Death

A while ago, a very close friend of mine asked me how she could help her boyfriend to grieve the recent and very sudden loss of his family member. Having been through the grieving process several times myself, I was able to guide her with some techniques that helped me during my times of grief.

So I've compiled a list of ways that you can help someone to grieve. In a couple weeks for my next post, I'll list some things to NOT say to or do with a person who is grieving.[Read more...]  

 

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How to Put Yourself into a Good Mood

Happy New Year, everyone!!! Hope your Holiday season was amazing! Mine certainly was for sure. 

I've been asked a lot why I seem like I'm never in a bad mood. The answer to that is easy. It's basically because I don't let myself get into a bad mood. I just don't want to waste any amount of time being in a bad mood instead of a good one. However, when I was much younger it was hard for me to do that.  

Over the years after surviving some powerful life altering experiences, I realize how important life is and thus, I don't take any second for granted. I brush off whatever I possibly can when it happens and try to not let things affect me in a negative way. [Read More...]

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3 Ways to Be Happier

We all want to be feel happy inside and lead a happy life. Sometimes though, we can unknowingly get sidetracked and before we know it, we're not feeling the happiness we want to be feeling. There are many ways to help yourself to feel happier inside, but for the moment, here are three quick ways you can help yourself feel happier today.

1- Filter Out The Negative

There's plenty of negativity in the world that could affect us if we let it. The trick is to not let it bring us down and jeopardize our happiness. To start, if you filter out some of the negativity you subject yourself to, in both the Media and Social Media arenas, you'll see a big affect on your state of mind. Seeing scary headlines on television and in news headlines along with negative posts from people on Social Media not only can jeopardize a person's self esteem, but it can create feelings of fear and submission. [Read More...]

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Could You Be Creating Chaos and Conflict?

Have you ever asked yourself, "When is my life ever going to calm down?", "Why can't I just get along with people? Or "Why don't people like being around me?"? If so, you need to take a good look at yourself and see if you are the reason for your chaotic and conflicted life.

Some chaos or conflict comes naturally in life. In small amounts, it can be a good thing that shakes up the routine or gets important issues out into the open, but in greater amounts, it is destructive. It's a strange phenomenon, but some people just seem to subconsciously crave and create a lot of chaos and conflict in their lives. 

These same individuals complain endlessly about how chaotic, hectic, crazy and conflicted their lives are, but as soon as it seems to calm down or become more peaceful- they create more. They do this because subconsciously, they crave chaos and conflict because they don't know how to handle life without it. [Read More...]

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Brutal Honesty is Just an Excuse to be Mean

Some people seem to feel the uncontrollable urge to be "brutally honest" nowadays in voicing their opinions about things and other people. They do it without any regards to how badly it can make others feel. They sometimes even go so far as to brag about how brutally honest they are. 

Basically, this whole Brutal Honesty thing is just an excuse to be tactless in how one says something to or about others without respecting their dignity. It's an excuse to be downright mean and hostile.

Perhaps it came about with the birth of social media. People feel that they can say whatever they want to, because there is a sense of anonymity. People can be brazen and be tough on-line in ways that they would be afraid to be in person. People who have self esteem issues feel it makes them feel better about themselves to belittle others. [Read more...]

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Be True to Your Word

People respect those who are true to their word. It's a sign of integrity and character to mean what you say and to do what you say you're going to do. On the flip side, people lose respect for those who do not keep their word and thus disappoint others.

Here are some ways that you can be true to your word and build and hold onto lasting relationships:

Don't say you'll do something if you can't.

If someone asks you for a favor asks for volunteers to do something, don't say yes or volunteer unless you will actually follow through and fulfill your obligation. How many times have people said to you, "Sure, I'll help you" and then when the day comes, they're nowhere to be found? [Read more...]

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Why Some Friendships Fade and Others Last

How many friends can you think of that aren't a part of your life anymore? I bet you can think of a good amount without much effort. I'm also sure you'll add to that list in the upcoming years.

The reality is, we make some friendships over the course of our lifetime that we don't retain forever. There are many reasons for this, but it's important to realize that its just a normal part of life.

We make new friends all the time. Some of the friendships we make are, by nature, temporary. Other friendships are a bit longer lasting. We also have a select amount of friendships that last for many years or even a lifetime. These the the best ones!

We make friends at our jobs, in school, during a training class or a party, and when we move to a new neighborhood. We make friends at various social events and even through other friends. Some of these friendships don't last because of a variety of reasons including: [Read More...]

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