3 Lessons to Strengthen Your Relationships
Good morning!
If you don’t know by now, you know I’m a Jon Gordon junkie. He is probably my favorite author and is someone I look up to.
If you’ve never read any Jon Gordon stuff, feel free to reach out to me as I have all of his books.
The thing I like about Jon is he is real. He talks about his struggles, his transformation and how he overcame and continues to overcome to be a more positive and influential person.
Recently, I read a book that he co-authored with his wife Kathryn Gordon, titled “Relationship Grit: A True Story with Lessons to Stay Together, Grow Together, and Thrive Together.”
This book talked about him and his wife’s marriage struggles, and showed how to overcome and continue to improve their relationship.
First, if you have a spouse, read it with them.
Even if you don’t, there are three key lessons that stood out to me that you can bring to any important relationship in your life. Whether it be a sibling, parent, co-worker or teammate, if someone means something to you, these lessons apply.
Be For Eachother, Not Against Eachother
Not everything is a competition. In the book, they talk often about how spouses sometimes compete against one another for importance based on their jobs, money made or things achieved. If someone is close to you, you’re on the same team. Support them in any way you can. It’s great to push people to be their best but don’t just try to one-up people. That’s not what good teammates do.
Communicate!
When there is dysfunction, it almost always comes down to communication. Why doesn’t an employee do their job correctly? A lot of times its because the expectations aren’t clear. Why do marriages fall on hard times? Failure to communicate. If you aren’t communicating, how do you know what’s going on in that important person’s life? Without regular communication, how important are they?
Invest in Your Relationships
If you don’t invest in something, how do you expect it to grow? How does an investment account grow? You regularly contribute money to it. How do you gain muscle? You regularly invest in working out! How do you grow professionally and personally? You invest in yourself! Well, time to invest in your relationships. This honestly could be just having a cup of coffee with a friend or co-worker, going to a conference with your team or going on a weekend getaway with your spouse. Without investment, there is no return.
Which one of these three lessons really stood out to you?