Improve your relationships

You can start to improve your relationships with friends, co-workers and family members by following these suggestions:

Be creative. Consider a variety of ways to solve a problem or understand a situation. Approach a problem in a way that may be counter to your own usual pattern of response. Try to see the problem or situation from another person's point of view.

Be curious. Ask questions and open a dialogue without judgment. Explore how and why others have arrived at their choices, conclusions or understandings of a situation or problem. Inquiry can bring insight and understanding and ultimately acceptance.

Be responsible. Take responsibility for your own personality when dealing with others. Be conscious of who you are and what you need while understanding the effect you have on others. This awareness can help resolve and even prevent clashes.

Be accepting. Accept other personality styles and differences rather than attempt to change them. When someone's behavior seems like a problem to you, the issue may simply be personality differences. These differences are often what attract us to each other as friends, partners or co-workers but they also are often the first to be blamed for problems that occur later.