Hi guys! Welcome to the 14th episode of the Wildly Successful Lifestyle podcast!
Living intentionally and living beautifully are two goals the Wildly tribe strive for every day. Today I’m going to talk about how that affects your relationships and how your relationships can be repaired fairly quickly without requiring anything from the other person. How do you do that?
Relationships are one of our most treasured gifts in life. They can bring joy and they can bring heartache. We have all seen both I’m sure.
How are your relationships right now?
Do you have any relationships that are causing you heartache but they live with you so you have to deal with them daily?
What about a relationship you cherish but they’ve hurt you and you’re fighting or worse yet you have cut them off altogether?
I am a believer in limiting unhealthy relationships if you have them. But How do you manage difficult relationships that you don’t want to end?
I have a big family. Like all big families, sometimes you have challenges.
My older sister and I are 2 years apart. We grew up living in the same room. We have always been very different but pretty close. I genuinely love her and always will. She has very different religious beliefs than I do and voices them to me periodically. Not all the time. Most of the time we have fun conversations but sometimes she does. What to do there? Lover and manage expectations. I expect her to periodically talk about religion and am not surprised when it happens. When this happens I have learned to just love her. I don’t argue or debate. I recognize she is doing the best she can with what she has. So, I just love. Knowing that if that isn’t enough for her then I’ve done everything in my power for the relationship to be well. I manage MY thoughts and control my expectations.
I have a younger sister that I did not grow up with, we were close not as close. Now let me be clear, my baby sister you hear me talk about is not this sister. Haha. She will be glad I clarified. She has cut anyone out of her life that doesn’t share her particular religious views. Is it painful? Yes. Can I change that? I cannot. She is doing the best she can with what she has. So what to do there? Same thing. Send her love and manage expectations. I don’t expect any interaction with her so if there is some it’s nice and if there is none it’s exactly what I expected so I am not disappointed. I adapted and adjusted my expectations so that I’m happy regardless.
Once again, Relationships can be the greatest source of joy and also some of our greatest pain. A lot has to do with how we manage our expectations. This is not easy and takes time. It’s living intentionally and beautifully at its finest. It’s accepting others without judgment. It’s managing your thoughts and expectations What relationships in your life can you improve by managing your expectations?
It’s your attachment to the expectations not the expectation itself.
Think about expectations from a very simple aspect of say the weather. Have you ever looked at the weather for the next day and it says it’s going to be beautiful and when you wake up it’s raining? Yeah. I have too. So do you hang on to the thought that it was supposed to be sunny so that you’re mad all day Or would it feel better to learn to dance in the rain?
This extends to every relationship you have. Almost everyone in your life is doing the best they can with what they have. Their intentions and actions are based on what their journey or struggle is and more than likely has nothing to do with you.
So the next time you’re having a struggle in a relationship remember that it’s because of the difference in expectations. Managing your attachment to the expectations you place on others may be just the remedy you need to mend a relationship at least on your end and that’s the only end you control. Ok guys I hope you found this helpful.
