How to Improve Any Relationship

<p>Have you ever noticed that we think we need to <strong>control </strong>the world, and that – somewhere in the back of our subconscious minds – other people need to behave a certain way so we can feel good?</p><p>We have so many <i>rules </i>for our relationships that we’ve stopped <strong>experiencing </strong>them and are locked into the <strong>expectations </strong>of how the relationship SHOULD be, instead.</p><p><i><strong>The secret is this</strong></i>: your relationship with <strong>anyone </strong>is dependent on your thoughts about them. That means that, in reality, our relationships are simply <strong>thoughts </strong>about another person.</p><p>The big kicker here? Your thoughts about them are dependent on your <strong>expectations </strong>of them and how well they meet those expectations.</p><p>Here are a few simple truths:</p><p>You can’t <strong>have </strong>love for someone – you just have love when you <strong>think </strong>about them</p><p>You can’t be mad at someone – you have <strong>thoughts </strong>that make you <i>mad</i>.</p><p>Someone can’t hurt you – you have <strong>thoughts </strong>that <i>hurt</i>.</p><p>These can be tough pills to swallow.</p><p>That’s why this episode is all about getting to <i>know </i>the other person you are in relationship with – whether that relationship is romantic, platonic or professional.</p><p>In order to get there, we wade through what your thoughts and expectations actually are – how to recognize them – and why you’ve got to eliminate them to truly move toward unconditional love, friendship or respect.</p><p><i><strong>Once you truly understand this</strong></i>, your relationships will never be the same – they will be so much better in every way.</p><p>Because the truth is, while we may not realize it, we all have a <i>manual </i>of expectations that informs how we want others to behave so that we can feel better in the long run.</p><p>It’s like an <strong>operation </strong>manual... a book of rules and expectations of what is normal, kind an