Will Discuss A Relationship That Has Helped Define You As An Individual.

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Self Love

Recently, I decided to take time and think of all the relationships that are present in a person’s lifetime and this made me question which is the most vital of all the relationships. As human beings, we are bound to meet new people and develop social interactions with them to help us have a sense of belonging. As the saying goes, “no man is an island” which only means human interaction is compulsory and can never be avoided at any cost. In our day to day activities, we end up committing to people all the time, be it our families, friend as well as colleagues. However, many people, including me, tend to forget to show up for that one person who will always be with you during the good times and the hard times that person being oneself.

Looking at the numerous relationships I have accumulated since I was born, I firmly believe the most essential relationship a person can have is by him/herself. In our current society, many individuals who aspire to live positively spend a large amount of time cultivating their relationship with their fellow human. Having a strong relationship with people within the society is not a bad thing but I believe these relationships can have a large impact in a persona life. But how much time to do we spend on ourselves? Having a good relationship with yourself might be defined as selfish as people think you ought to spend most of your time and efforts nurturing your relationship with people within the society. However, it is deemed self-centered not to have a perfect relationship with yourself as this is the foundation of all relationship. Without loving, appreciating and respecting oneself, it becomes hard to reciprocate this love to others. There is no way I can say I love my friends to the moon and back and yet I don’t love myself. Establishing an excellent relationship with yourself if the key to having an excellent relationship with others. Many of us can relate just how much we neglect ourselves and put our needs and priorities after that of the people we love. Many of us ignore ourselves and as a result, begin feeling not worthy of any love. I have come to realize that for you to truly live a fulfilling life, you have to learn to love and prioritize yourself at all times.

All my life, I used to believe family and friends are the most important individuals in a person’s life. This is somehow accurate as my mum and dad have always loved me and they have always been there for me. They have given their love selflessly and I don’t think there is anything as chaste and serene like a parents love. This was the reason I always thought the family was the most vital relationships in the universe. However, I was wrong as I found myself not sharing most of my worries with them as I deemed them controlling and wouldn’t understand what I was going through. When I was heartbroken, they never even knew what was going on in my life. When I was confused about what step to take in my life, I never shared my worries with them. This only shows just how much I was holding back despite thinking they were the world to me. Just like any other relationship, challenges are bound to come your way as you try to find peace with yourself. This is something I have come to embrace as I know there is no quick-fix or a direct solution as these challenges are what makes us stronger. Once I took my time as well as effort and decided to nurture and develop myself everything began falling into place.

To me, the first step to self –love journey was to identify the various techniques that promote healthy interpersonal relationships. In school, I had been taught the various communication styles like submissive, aggressive, manipulative, assertive, and passive-aggressive. After being taught the different communication styles, I took it upon myself to identify where I belonged. My default style is aggressive. I am naturally strong, and at times my aggressiveness has no limits or recognition of different settings. This has its advantages and consequences; for instance, I have found myself talking to almost everyone I meet with whether they are known to just strangers or me. I have made great friends this, but I have equally crossed some unfriendly individuals on the way too, ones that took it out of me maybe for just greeting them including receiving no responses. Some dangerous encounters left me hurt or rather disappointed.

I understand how important my interpersonal relationship skill is whether at home, at school, and at work. I cannot avoid interacting with others in all aspects of life, just as it is said, no man is an island, and hence we need other people in our lives day in day out. What I am doing to better my interpersonal skills perfecting on my communication skills, making sure I am a good listener and only talk when it is necessary. I have also improved on paying attention, noting, and understanding non-verbal communication like body movements. Before, I would get so bored when I work in groups and always felt like other people will only drag my success behind, however, I am now learning how to appreciate teamwork, and I love it more each day that passes. At least I know that if I am in the right group that we share our goals, then we can help each other not only with work-related tasks but also personal life hardships. Each day is becoming more brave and confident to offer advice and suggest solutions to some problems that my friends go through. My decision making skill is getting better each day because I have decided to be open-minded and allow myself to learn continuously.