Relationships of all forms aren’t easy to maintain. Throughout our teenage years it’s even harder to keep a balanced lifestyle between friends as we all struggle in our own problems. However, it’s worth the time to think about relationships & worth the effort to build some relationship skills.
Removing Toxicity
It’s easy to spot the relationships that aren’t beneficial. These people tend to drag you down or bring a negative influence. It’s best to either cut ties completely or spend less time with them, as it may be detrimental to you (your happiness, future, health, etc).
Quality Time
Spending time with your loved ones will create & strengthen bonds. Even though life can get sooooo busy with school, sport, etc, the key to a happy life (or simply getting through depression) is to spend time with people you love (positive friends, family, neighbors, teachers, etc). Relationships are such a key part of happiness. Here is a cool quiz developed at Harvard, to analyze your relationships, what does it say about you?: LINK (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/01/01/well/happiness-challenge-quiz.html)
Effective Listening
To be heard as an individual is very powerful. This will be a way for you to know that your voice is important and can be effective. Even if one can’t relate to a situation or ideals, it’s best to get a good understanding of what is being communicated. It is such a great feeling to be heard, and hopefully you can not only find some good friends that are effective listeners, but you can also be that person within your relationships. Avoiding distraction/ thinking about other things, asking non-leading and non judgmental questions, as well as maintaining eye contact are a few benchmarks of effective listening.
Recognizing & celebrating
FOMO (fear of missing out), social media and a natural teen tendency is to always be distracted by our surroundings. Sometimes a really helpful activity is to just recognize the positive relationships in our lives. Jot them down or just think about all of your relationships and be grateful for them. And remember, kids your own age aren’t your only valuable relationships. Family, teachers, coaches, neighbors… relationships outside of the standard ‘friend’ role are really important & can bring lots of fun into our lives. Recognize all your ‘positive’ relationships & maybe give those people a lil extra smile, gratitude or simple hug next time you see them. And when you are feeling bad, try to focus on these great people; give them a call, text or visit. Or maybe just refocus your bad day by looking through pictures or thinking about fun past experiences. Or, set up a date to get together with one of your ‘positive’ people for coffee or a movie 🙂
Relationships will never be 100% easy.
3 keys to success: Accepting the ups with the downs (practicing forgiveness or letting go if toxic), trying to be a good friend & spending the majority of your time with people who inspire you to be the best version of yourself.
Stick w/ us, we will always boost you to be the best version of yourself & we will be here to support you when you need it!
Cheers to friendship!!
