Our relationships are a reflection of who we are and where we’re going. They have the power to influence our daily lives, which is why it’s so important to check in on their health and actively seek ways to improve them. Whether it's our relationship with our parents, spouse, children, boss, friends, or even co-workers, anything with the power of shaping us is worth nurturing.Here are 5 ways we can start nurturing our everyday relationships to build a positive, respectful, loving, and supportive community.

Know Your Why

Knowing "why" is our first guiding point and what keeps us committed during hard times. Our why will be very personal, but in general, from the example set by Jesus, we know the importance of having healthy and solid relationships here on Earth. He cultivated a close community of people who, despite disagreements, misunderstandings, and disappointments, were ultimately by his side and grew his legacy.  

Beware Your Train of Thought

If we don’t pay attention to our thoughts, anxiety can become crippling and difficult to control. So, self-awareness is key. Learning to identify our thought patterns and control our emotions in reaction to them can help us focus on “what is” instead of worrying about “what could be”. Even though we can’t always control which thoughts may pop across our minds, we can control which thoughts to feed and sustain.

Watch Your Surroundings

It's said that we’re the average of the five people we spend the most time with, which is why we need to pay special attention to who these people are. It’s good to support friends and close ones during hard times, but we need to stay alert and identify when a line crosses into a toxic environment for us. A positive environment that speaks life into our relationships can determine their future.

Walk the Talk

The Bible constantly encourages us to foster integrity, which simply means leading by example. To improve our relationships, we must act in step with our words and our principles. We can do that by observing which behaviors in our lives don't align with the type of relationship we’re trying to build.

Go Deeper

Sometimes we reach a plateau in relationships. We want to improve them but feel stuck and find our usual tactics aren’t giving us results anymore. When this happens, don’t be afraid to dive in and go deeper. There’s always something new to learn about someone, whether through a creative activity or with a different way of showing appreciation. Healthy and meaningful relationships are one of the most important keys to living a wholesome and effective life. To nurture and deepen these relationships we need to actively seek ways to improve them. Sometimes it's the small tweaks that end up having the biggest impact.