How to Build Meaningful Relationships
Building meaningful relationships starts with increasing proximity. When I say relationships I don’t just mean the romantic kind. We could be talking about a friend, a relative, a coworker—anybody! Whoever you want to develop a deeper connection with, it is going to talk more communication, more time together, more moments for connection.
Before you take to start this challenge you have to have someone in mind. Who is the person you’re looking to build a more meaningful relationship with? Once you have that name, you’re ready to take the assessment.
With this person in mind, ask yourself these questions:
How often do I connect with this person? That can be either in-person meeting or through any other form of communication.
In an ideal world, how often would I want to connect with this person? Again, that can be either in-person or through any other form of communication?
What is preventing me from taking the steps necessary in order to increase proximity with this person?
What are one or two opportunities that I can create in order to increase the proximity to this person?
Brain surgery did not have to be performed to make this list of four questions. It is just so easy to get stuck looking at the mountain ahead of us instead of looking at what the next best step is. I believe that we all are willing to take ownership and responsibility for the things that we want, and presently what we want is to build a meaningful relationship with this person. And so in order for us to do that, we have to be able to begin to understand both what is keeping us from increasing proximity and what steps can we take starting today in order to move closer. Proximity is not the answer to build in a meaningful relationship, it’s just the first step.
Bonus food for thought! I believe this applies to not just people but to anything in life that we really want. If you want to exercise more, you're gonna have to increase your proximity to things that encourage you, motivate you and align you with being more physically active. If you want to eat healthier, you're going to have to increase your proximity to the opportunity to consume that type of food. And even with ourselves, although it may feel a little woo-woo, the closer proximity to ourselves, the familiarity of knowing your needs, wants, boundaries, the greater opportunity we have to be and know ourself.
