To say that relationships are important to our lives is an understatement. After all, every civilization was built upon our ability in society to maintain and cultivate them. Relationships take work—hard work. And as it is with anything we deem worth working hard to achieve, relationship work can be profoundly rewarding. Yet we are often under-resourced when it comes to helping our relationships survive and thrive.
Yet one look at a credit card statement or an Amazon order history and we can see at a glance just how much money we spend on relationships (directly or indirectly). From dining out, to gifts, to the technologies we are so dependent on to foster them, there are few things that we do or own that are not in some way about furthering our relationships. Still, the relationship let-downs, the ways that significant others fail us or even betray us (and vice versa), persist.
Moreover, we learn to invest in education, in our careers, and similarly in our children (in activities like sports, dance, arts and music, social groups, test prep courses and travel) leaving little time, thought or financial resource for specific cultivation of relationships, despite the reality that marital and relationship distress is one of the most universal and heartrending human dilemmas.
Therapy can be the very best investment in a relationship because of its ability to interrupt the repetitions, hit the reset button and start anew, with new insight for improved outcomes.
Our most intimate relationships are the cornerstones of our lives. And maintaining close, intimate relationships over time takes hard work. Successful relationships require agility and adaptability—to seasons of life and those challenges that come our way. Be it between a teen and parent, an adult child and elderly parents, or committed couples, conflict is necessary and inevitable. At 1A Wellness, we are here to help you navigate conflict, and avoid its hackneyed over-worn path, to move beyond regret, resignation or even dread, toward a place of relational growth, strength and even excitement.
