Improve Social Relationships

Our personal happiness has much to do with our friendships and time with family.  In today’s fast paced high technology world –we are often making contact, but not really communicating.  It is important to take the time and nurture some relationships.  Watch this week’s short video and do a simple exercise that will help to nurture and improve the quality of a few of your relationships.

Some facts about social relationships and happiness:

• It’s more about quality than quantity
• It’s not all about family relationships.  Friends sometimes challenge us to grow more than family can.
• Social relationships provide one of the strongest buffers against negative life events.
• Both extroverts and introverts benefit from pleasant emotions in social situations.
  • (We do not all enjoy being social butterflies.  But we should challenge ourselves to expand on a relative basis.)
• Not only does companionship predict more positive emotions, but a lack of it predicts low well being on many fronts, including mental distress and poor health.

Exercise To Improve Relationships:
Focus on one to three family relationships, and one or two non-family relationships in which you would like to invest more time. Think of some nice things you could do this week to nurture the relationship. Possibly a lunch, visit, telephone call, little gift, a note of appreciation, or kind word could make a big difference. List the next actionable steps you are going to take to reinvigorate or continue to nurture that relationship and then take action.