Communication

Communication is everything. It's what we live by, how we think, and how we succeed in our relationships. There are all sorts of different types of relationships whether it is in the work environment, love relationships, friendships, and family. Not being able to communicate not only hurts us, it hurts the people around us. We subconsciously put limits on our individual growth as well as our partnerships.

My story: I've had two long relationships and I can honestly say that communication was the demise of them both. I was a terrible communicator. I was always afraid to speak up for fear that I'd hurt feelings or I just didn't want to fight, so I'd hold it all in with the hopes that it would go away. It caused me to have a lot of anxiety. It was really hard for me to relax and I could never shake off the uneasy feeling. I would bottle everything up to the point that when we did fight, I'd explode and become very defensive. It wasn't healthy for my relationships or me. I realize now how important it is to be honest about my feelings and also listening to the person presenting their feelings to me. As I said before, one wouldn't speak up if they didn't care and that's something that I need to keep in mind instead of always taking it negatively and having the need to be "right."