Managing Relationships Paper

Relationships are defined as a connection you establish when you communicate with another person. Every time you engage in interpersonal communication, you are in a relationship but it is only through ongoing recurring interactions that you develop interpersonal relationship. We all have had several relationships throughout our lifetimes and unfortunately some have left but other have stayed and had a lasting impression on our lives.

Personally I have had all types of relationships throughout my life. Some have been friends and some have even been intimate. As we progress through these relationships we experience what researchers call relational development which is the movement of a relationship from one stage to another and the direction is either towards or away from intimacy. Proximity increases the communication opportunities between two individuals and this is the one factor that lead to our initial short term attraction because the more she came around we had a chance to talk about each other’s likes and dislikes we talked on the phone, went on dates and spent more time together despite the disapproval of friends and over time we developed a relationship that we were able to build upon for the years to come.

On the other hand the long term attraction is associated with the liking of positive feelings that makes us continue and escalate a relationship into something more. To me this is what I like to call the “I love you” part of the relationship. The relationship that I would like to use for this assignment involves my husband and I. We have been married for over four years and we have been together for a total of six years. I met my husband while I was at work at the time I was a bus rider. I was at a school and he stop me and ask me for my number which I did. So when he calls me I asked him for his name and the rest well is history. Our relationship began as a friendship as we would go out to pool hall, out to the movies, and just hang out in the front his sister house talking until literally the sun came up the following day it was something not to many get to do and I was lucky to have a man would really wanted to know me.

We will have parties and Bar-b-que just some good ole clean fun. After a year we decide we wanted to move in together and see how that will work. We live together for year and then something shocking me happen. I was in the kitchen cooking. When I turn around he was on his knee with a ring and asks me to marry him. I guess my cooking is what done it. So I decided I had a good man by my side and I said yes. The level of our relationship turned into a romantic one as we began as strangers, then friends, after boyfriend/ girlfriend and lastly wife and husband. I have no regrets with any decisions I made in regards to who I married and why. Although there are factors that led to the attraction of my wife I will talk about one short term attraction. As it is defined in book it states that short term attraction is a degree to which you sense a potential for developing an interpersonal relationship ( Beebe and Beebe , Redmond Chapter 9 page 256). When in a relationship one must be willing to give it all to make it work, and if not then the smallest thing could ruin something good.

So if the support is needed, give it, a conversation is the key, open the door, and basically make sure that each person in the relationship is happy at all times or close to it. Be open to criticism of all kind, good or bad, so if you’re the guy and your woman tells you something she thinks you should change instead of making up excuses and starting an argument about how you shouldn’t, take it into consideration and go from there. The most important about any relationship is being able to manage them effectively, so many people who claim that they have problems within their relationship rather it is for business, or interpersonal the smallest problem that could be easily solved for some reason always ends up being the cause to a bigger issue between the two parties.

The best thing about relationships for me is attractions and the process that one may go through in order to get the relationship built, this shows how strong the relationship might end up, because if one can go through many obstacles without giving up and fighting for what they want, then they would possibly do the same thing in the relationship making sure no small infraction would cause it to end for no reason. Strong interpersonal relationships exist between people who fill many of each others emotional and physical needs. For example, a mother may have strong interpersonal relationships with her children, because she provides her child’s shelter, food, love and acceptance. Many may feel that meeting someone you are willing to deal with is hard these day, especially with an attitude like mines. I have the tendency to become irritated if things do not turn out how I planned to be, so I came to the point where I would no longer plan just go with the flow with an open mind.

References

www.thefreedictionary.com/…terpersonal+relationship
www.sciencedaily.com/…nterpersonal_relationship.htm
www.livestrong.com/…g-of-interpersonal-relationship