Relationship Building
- Establish regular communication with your partner. Stay in touch. Tell your partner what you need.
- Active listening and increased awareness are very important.
- Active listening and increased awareness are very important.
- Take the time to listen. Hear what you are saying and think about what you are not saying.
- Be aware of your body language.
- Don't jump to conclusions.
- Reflection: Lets the person know you are interested in accurately understanding them.
- Spend time together for just the two of you.
- Plan activities that you both enjoy. Be flexible and compromise.
- Set regular times to be together. Minutes count.
- Work out problems and develop solutions.
- Set aside a problem solving time.
- Both partners need to agree to the exact date, time, and location. Select a neutral area.
- Be free of distractions.
- Set an agenda.
- Try not to work on major problem issues when you are angry. Set aside a specific time when you are able to think more clearly.
- Do not give up when things go wrong. Make a commitment to work on issues in the relationship.
- Understand that we all make mistakes.
- Consider making a code of ethics that you and your partner will follow.
- Mutual respect - there are different kinds of respect:
- Respect for one's values.
- Respect for skills, hobbies.
- Respect for different types of relationships.
- Work towards unconditional understanding and being supportive.
- Learn to accept differences.
- Learn from mistakes. It's called growth.
- Learn to appreciate each other. Tell your partner what you like about them. Tell them frequently.
- Be honest and appropriately assertive.
- Be trustworthy.
- Keep your word.
- Follow-through.
- Learn to build trust within your relationship and yourself.
- Help each other out in a time of need.
- Offer a reassuring word.
- Spend time together.
- Be there for your partner.
- Listen. Donít try to fix.
- Ask your partner what he/she needs.
- Develop the ability to receive from each other and to give to your partner. It must be a two-way street.
- Try to see the world from another person's perspective.
- Learn how to weather the tough times.
- Review what has worked in the past.
- Review what has worked in the past.
- Be aware of your relationship trouble spots and learning how to work through them. Conflict is sometimes the price you must pay for deepening the intimacy in a relationship.
- Understand that good relationships take work and time commitment. There are no shortcuts.
- Be patient, set realistic goals, and don't expect change overnight.
- Love: There are many types of love. The word love and how you are using it may need to be defined.
- Learn about each other's values.
Sources: Love In the Trenches, Couples Communication