I know costs are important. In today's financial climate, having disposable income in one's budget for unplanned or unexpected expenses is not always a possibility. I also know that to make money, one must invest money and that our investments increase our net worth. I believe our relationships are where true wealth is found and if we want true net worth, then we must be investing in our relationships continually.
Our greatest joys are experienced within relationships, and perhaps why we experience the greatest pain when relationship break down. This is why investing in your relationship is imperative, there is nothing worth more than having a fulfilling, happy and eternally rich relationship with a partner that you love and who adores you.
An old Chinese proverb says the best time to plant a tree (or make an investment ) was twenty years ago and the second-best time to plant a tree (or start investing) is today. In his work, Art of war, Sun Tzu, says that we should sweat more during times of peace so that we bleed less during times of war. Relationships are the same! If we have not been investing into our relationship, it’s never too late, you can start from where you are and build and create. Of course, the best time to build, fortify and develop a relationship is when things are going well, in times of prosperity, so that when the dark days come, and they always do, then your relationship will bleed less, withstand more and escape the dangers of total collapse.
So, let’s say that if you invested £ 10 000 on the development of your relationship over the next 10 years and the quality of your relationship increased by 200%, would you make that investment? Why do we spend so much on education, but don’t educate ourselves about relationships, where true wealth is experienced. The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your relationships.
Relationships need to be nurtured, cared for, processed, and esteemed with value. Our only model of relationships are our parents and the glorified fantasy of media. No wonder relationships are hard, no wonder the divorce rate is so high. We are untrained, filled with illusion, expectation and fantasy and then scratch our heads when our partner leaves us, has an affair, or breaks our hearts. We have a duty to each other, to learn, practice and apply tools, techniques, models, and strategies to be the best version of ourselves within a committed partnership.
Why do partnerships in business work? What principles, practices and boundaries are in place in business that could be practiced in a relationship. Why do friendships work? What makes deep true friendships last and how can you apply these principles to your relationship?
Just asking these questions and looking for answers is of themselves an education, an investment, a movement in the right direction. Consider some of the following questions that I offer as food for thought in your steps to relationship education:
Who do you need to be to create the relationship of your dream?
What is the grandest version of the greatest vision for your relationship?
What if it costs more to not educate yourself?
If you had no expectations, what would be different?
I wish for you untold fortunes in your relationship
Brandon