One of the attributes that set humans apart from other living beings is their ability to build a society and find joy in collective existence. That’s why it is very important to nurture our interpersonal relationships with a lot of love and care. A healthy interpersonal relationship will always lead to more happiness and a pleasant journey of life.

However, you can’t take relationships for granted. Maintaining healthy relationships requires strong interpersonal skills and constant focus on certain golden rules. Let’s take a look at these principles of healthy relationships below.

1. Be Open

You always need 1+1 to make 2. This also applies to relationships. To create a strong bonding, you need to be willing to share and let the other person know that you are invested, honest, and welcoming in the relationship. Just think about it – can there ever be a best friend or true love in a relationship if either of the partners doesn’t share trust and interact freely with the other? Interaction and receptiveness are essential to maintain warmth in relationships.

2.Be Empathetic

The time we spend with people is usually brief. However, the things we do in those moments and the impressions we create often last a lifetime!

Most of us desire relationships because we want to be understood. By being empathetic towards people, we can make them feel that we care for their feelings. It might be a few thoughtful words or a small action, but, something that makes the other person look forward to seeing you again and remembering the interaction fondly at all times.

3.Give Respect

Strong relationships can never be built without ample respect for each other. You need to respect the time, efforts, emotions, and actions that others invest in the relationship. You might be working in a team and if you go around bossing others and behaving as if you are the only ‘doer’ in the group, the team is likely to perform poorly and might even fall apart. The same might happen to familial relationships.

Therefore, don’t judge on the basis of the size of contribution or effort put in by others, but respect whatever efforts others make. That would eventually lead to stronger and longer relationships.

4.Remain accessible

One of the biggest harms we can do to our relationships is to not  give ample time. Imagine what would happen to a healthy and flowering plant if you stop watering it and don’t pay attention to it.

We all have the same 24 hours of the day, but some of us have wonderful relationships while others struggle. You may not spend the whole time with others, but, give a certain amount of time to your relationships each day.

5.Set boundaries

When we are too engrossed in a relationship, limits can sometimes become hard to implement. Before you realize it, the other person overwhelms your self-belief, opinions, lifestyle, and values. Being a loving and caring partner in a relationship doesn’t mean that you let the other person walk over your life. Similarly, you shouldn’t expect your partner to give access to everything and  be willing to do whatever you desire.

Remember, a boundless relationship is never going to be a happy relationship, and it might not even go a long distance.

6.Disagreements are healthy

“My way or the highway” is a wrong approach to any personal or professional relationship. No matter how experienced, wise, or well educated you are, nobody has ever been always right. At the same time, even if you have conviction in your opinion, it doesn’t bind the others to agree to you. They might have an equal conviction in their own opinions.

Hence, sometimes it is okay to disagree and carry on. Every person has his own feelings, lifestyles, aspirations, and opinions. Best relationships are those where people agree to disagree, but don’t let disagreements affect their respect and cordiality towards each other.

Conclusion

The journey of life is always better when we are constantly accompanied by healthy and positive interpersonal relationships. Everyone is busy, and we all have our own personalities. However, keeping the above points will make harmonious existence stronger and longer!