Three steps to improve your relationship(s)

Relationships are often a key focus with many of my corporate coaching and life coaching clients. I find that the struggles with challenging relationships, at work and or at home, mostly all boil down to one element: communication.

We all live in our own reality and see and perceive the world through our own set of glasses. Your set of glasses, indeed they are indeed yours! This means that our boss or our spouse sees the world through a different set of glasses and it is important to understand that each and every person interprets behavior, words and events in hers or his way.

Our glasses our made up by our past experiences, beliefs and thoughts. We choose, consciously and unconsciously, to color our glasses through which we "see our reality." Understanding this is an important FIRST STEP in building strong relationships, and step two is not far away (and has even larger implications.)

STEP TWO is realizing that everybody else sees the world through their own glasses as well. So, when you hear your colleague says X, you will interpret that as Y because of your own glasses. And these glasses can make you perceive X as annoying or even insulting, and was this her intention? Instead of spending lots of time and energy assuming and second guessing the true meaning of your colleague's remark (X), think about her glasses. Perhaps she did not mean what you are interpreting. Solution? STEP THREE ASK AND SHARE! Ask what she meant and share how you interpret that. This will clear the air of any misinterpretations and create strong and loving relationships!