Better Relationships Happier Lives

It hit me first on 9-11. It was a tragic demonstration of how important our relationships are. Think back to those awful events of 9-11. The hundreds of people in the towers on the floors above where the jets had crashed. The 44 people on Flight 93. They knew there was no escape for them. They were going to die. When these people knew they were going to die, what did they do?

You’re right. They did not quickly make one last sale, read an inventory of their possessions, or review their bank balances. They called the people they loved to say, “I love you and goodbye.”

I saw this again last week. A plane traveling from Hawaii to Guam got into trouble, and was forced to make an emergency landing. However, for a grueling few minutes, the passengers thought this was it. They were going to die. The news media interviewed a gentleman traveling with his wife, and he said that he and his wife held hands and told each other, “I love you and goodbye.”

I call this my smacked in the face with the truth moment. In spite of the fact that I teach relationship skills, I’d never fully realized this truth: The most important thing we have in our life is our relationships.

So, wouldn’t it be nice to have a way to improve this most vital thing? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to build, on a daily basis, the best relationships we can have?