What one thing could we do to improve our relationships?
In a study carried out by Lyubomirsky (2013), they made a surprising finding. The closest, most intimate, and most trusting relationships appear to be distinguished not by how a friend responds to another’s disappointments and losses, but how they reacted to good news. Imagine that your friend has some great news and they’re excited and can’t wait to tell someone. How good are you at sharing their joy without letting envy creep in? Listening generously – listening actively and constructively to someone’s happy news, allowing the spotlight to be on them, allowing the moment to be theirs, without a sense of competition, is a skill we can all learn to be better at.
Next time your partner has a good news story try saying: “that’s great, tell me more”. If you do this consistently enough, in the future whenever something good happens in their day you will be the first person they will think of. If you want to be genuinely closer to someone you care about, work on being their greatest cheerleader.
