The 4 Levels of Successful Relationships

It’s been said, the person you become in a few years is largely based upon the people you associate with and what you read. You are a product of your environment and you are in control of both.

Where are you today – based on the relationships in your life?

On one end of the scale is “enhanced, fulfilled and growing” on the other is “tragic and disappointing.” When our relationships are diminished and hurtful we insulate and isolate ourselves to avoid pain. Isolation and inactivity will kill anything and anyone that’s healthy. This problem is neither a man or a woman issue. We both have and feel these wounds – some of us feel them daily. To cocoon ourselves, to have this mentality, is a bad response to a bad situation.

Your best comes from having healthy relationships.

Relationships are the most important aspect of your life. We all have egos and we all want healthy results at work and at home. The glue to these three dimensions is relationships. We need to be around each other. As human beings, we need community with like-minded people. People who believe what we believe. A friend is not someone who you check their status. Your network is not found on LinkedIn. A conversation doesn’t happen on a blog, and you don’t have a discussion on Twitter. These are human interactions and we need them. We must have them as a means of survival. We need the interaction. We need to learn about each other’s values and beliefs.

In a study from the Center for the Institute of Mental Health found if you were disconnected, isolated not having healthy relationships you were:

2-3 X More Likely to Die an Early Death

4 X More Likely to Experience Emotional Burnout

5 X More Likely to Have Clinical Depression

10 X More Likely to be Hospitalized for Mental Disorder

Alarming statistics certainly and we all go through various periods or circumstances at some point in life. When you have healthy relationships you tend to walk through life much healthier. You need still waters, rest for your soul. What have you done to get to this place recently or ever? It’s all about being intentional. There’s 4 Levels of Relationships.

The troubles in your life won’t stop, but in following these principles, you won’t be a statistic.

Relationship with God. What’s missing is you need a dynamic, real, energetic conversational relationship every day of the week as if you’re talking to your father…because you are talking to your Father who is the key to freedom in your life. It’s a delight, not a duty.

Relationship with the Right People. What’s missing is you’re filled with people grabbing at your every turn for your attention whether LIVE or social. You need an honest connection with people who believe what you believe. Whether that’s your family, your church or wherever you need a physical, mental and emotional connection that uplifts you and moves you to grow. We have a four-week growth track – Elegant Leader Advantage – an open group teaching and encouraging you to be the best leader at work and at home, you can be. You can jump-in-anytime in any week, you don’t have to start with Step 1. Read more…

Relationship with the Right Friends. What’s missing is choosing friends with discernment. We all have friends that are on this-end or that end of the scale. I’m not advocating you remove or eliminate people in your life that’s your decision. You only have so many hours in the day and night and your time is more valuable than you think so spend it wisely. It’s a commodity you cannot recover. The right friends meet together, share with each other, check-in on each other, link up and stay close. This is more than an ‘inner circle.’

Relationship with a Team. What’s missing is a small, intimate group to make a difference in each other’s lives and in the lives of other people. Many of you have breakfast or lunch groups, guys have masculine names like ‘Fight Club’ and so on. These relationships are your partners who are on a journey, like you, together. We put Voltage in our Team relationships!

You need to get it together, together.

For those of you who’ve been with The Culture Whisperer for any length of time, you are aware of our mission to cultivate 10,000 Elegant Leaders by 2020 #ElegantLeader2020 and we’re getting bigger by getting smaller. We grow as a community by building smaller intimate groups of the right people who are on a journey together where you can be supported, held together by friendship, encouragement and interdependence. These relationships help each of us grow and flourish!

How’s it work? Just as there are 4 Levels of Relationships, there are 4 Actions We Commit To:

Encouragement. Elegant Leaders need courage and to be encouraged. You will need someone, a cheerleader who will uplift and influence you; who will not let you give up on yourself and let you fall; who will tell you, ‘You can do it.’ We must have people who have our backs. People who believe in you, in us and will encourage us daily.

A UCLA study found we, human beings, need 8-10 meaningful touches daily so we don’t go loopy. Look around you and see if you can spot someone to give a meaningful word of encouragement to. Now look to your second choice…LOL! We all need a smile or a giggle daily

Honesty. The last thing anyone needs is another ‘fake-it-I’m-okay’ group. Time’s precious and you’re stretched thin as it is already. We’re helping you optimize your time and gain high-value relationships without drama and without much effort either. Be real! The caveat is it means we must allow some vulnerability doesn’t’ it? Where else are you going to find encouragement, honesty and real? It’s not some BS ‘thing’ you might try when you have time – it’s real, genuine, authentic, transparent relationships where trust and cooperation exist.

Prayer. Where can you go to have someone pray over you and with you about anything? We are in a battle here on Earth and some of you don’t even realize it. We have people who will wrestle on your behalf so you can stand firm and not give up.

Growth. What’s been missing is that connection with someone who will encourage, be real and help you through anything you’re going through. While growth comes at the edge of your comfort zone, knowing you have an ally certainly gives you some confidence that everything is going to be okay and without judgment. We link up together to move one step further. You can take just one more step to go from here and one step further than you did yesterday. You can do this and we can go there together!

Come along the journey and get the support you know you’ve been looking for.

The conversation continues…