Sahar Sohail
Mr. Johnson
Sociology 2301
30 July 2018
Relationships
As people continue to live life, they form relationships with other people, including family members, friends, classmates, roommates, etc. Relationships – the way in which two or more people are connected, by blood, by marriage, by work, by intimacy, by interests, or by friendship – require a lot of work, by all the people included. But relationships give meaning to life; they are a result of people needing each other for various reasons: for emotional support, psychological well-being, love, and affection, etc. But not all relationships are good relationships. In good relationships, people are happy, healthy and carefree. People in successful relationships are peaceful and get along, encourage each other and are there for one another. But good relationships don’t just happen. They are constructed by ten guidelines which include communication, commonalities, respect, trust, time, feedback, empathy, accepting differences, managing technology, and support. I believe these guidelines are very helpful for working through relationships and martial conflicts in positive ways.
The first guideline holding up a good, healthy relationship is verbal communication. All relationships depend on it. Everyone has needs and concerns – and people in good relationships lessen those burdens and problems. The theoretical perspective of marriage and family includes functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. With this, when considering the role of family in society, functionalists uphold the notion that families are an important social institution and that they play a key role in stabilizing society. They also note that family members take on status roles in a marriage or family. The family—and its members—perform certain functions that facilitate the prosperity and development of society. Relationships are based on love, and when it comes down to it, love is something that is communicated among people. Information, such as one’s needs, concerns, and frustrations, is transmitted through people, mostly through verbal communication. This includes the successful conveying or sharing of ideas, feelings, expectations, too, among people in relationships. Relationships are based on love, and when it comes down to it, love is something that is communicated among people. Raising children plays a huge role in martial relationships as it identifies how well your child will turn out due to your uprising and bringing up. Children play a big factor when it comes to marriage and relationships as they set a foundation to the parents. Having a family, communication is highly important as it defines how one’s feeling and emotions truly are. Information, such as one’s needs, concerns, and frustrations, is transmitted through people, mostly through verbal communication. This includes the successful conveying or sharing of ideas, feelings, expectations, too, among people in relationships and marriage.
The second guideline of a great relationship is the people involved having similar objectives. A family co-exists peacefully when each family member wants peace and happiness. Two young people who envision a future together both want the same thing; therefore, their relationship is based on, among other things, their goal to live together throughout life on a romantic and intimate basis. Similarities tend to bring together seemingly different people. When people can work together toward a common goal, whatever it may be, they can be looked at as essentially being part of a relationship – because they were brought together, and connected, by a common task.
Respect and trust, the following guidelines of a good relationship, go hand in hand. People have good relationships with people they respect and trust. Respect, in this case, indicates to a deep admiration for another person elicited by their abilities, qualities or achievement. Many relationships and marriages are formed out of respect, at least in non-familial situations. Throughout the last 100 years, marriages and relationships have changed a lot. Back then, the role of men was completely different from what it is today. For example, men in the 1900’s were going out to fight in the war while women sat at home while their kids were being used for child labor. Now, many families own their own businesses as well as women becoming a huge success in the working world. Supporting and giving feedback to one another in times of need is what helps set a relationship during tough times. The same goes for trust, the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of someone, or the absence of the truth of a statement without evidence or investigation.
In my case, I find respect to be the most helpful within the ten guidelines because I feel it to be very powerful in one’s eyes. With any type of relationship, whether its family, friends, or classmates, respect is key to having a healthy relationship. Without having respect for one another, people tend to lose their focus on all the other guidelines, such as communication, compatibility, trust and so on. In order to give respect, one must receive respect and that is the key to a healthy relationship. While on the other hand, I find managing technology least helpful. Although I agree, technology has ruined many relationships but it can be solved in many cases as well. Technology does not have to be a part of every situation or problem and can be solved while other issues such as time, support, trust may not be solved. Due to this, I have experienced many issues in my family as well. Having respect for one another is what brings my family together as everyone is so loving and kind to one another. Even though, at times we may have our cell phones and gadgets at dinner time or gatherings, we learn how to accept the limits and put our gadgets away when needed. Compromising plays another role in our everyday lives as everyday one compromises to make another human being happy. With this, I have experienced many ups and downs in life as well. I think of it like this as I have been in the same situation in my household. We are a family of nine and it comes with a lot of responsibility and time. Due to this, I have learned to respect my elders and take time to put away my technology and manage my hard work into creating a positive household within my family, thus creating a happy and healthy home. Research indicates having a good relationship with yourself is arguably the foundation on which your other relationships are built, and studies are supporting this notion. High self-esteem predicts better relationship satisfaction, and high self-esteem of both partners is an even better predictor of strong relationship satisfaction. Moreover, people with high self-esteem appear to respond more constructively and positively during conflict when they think their partner is committed to the relationship, whereas people with low self-esteem don’t do this even when they believe their partner is committed.
In conclusion, a good relationship isn’t simply supported by just one thing, but supported by a number of things. A good relationship where two or more people are connected through something, whether blood, marriage or mutual affection, needs a steady dose of communication, commonalities, respect, trust, time, feedback, empathy, accepting differences, managing technology, and support – the ten guidelines for any successful relationship. When it comes to relationships among people, the key is maximizing those moments of selflessness and putting the focus on that other person or group of people. This especially pertains to ones with family members and spouses – or would-be spouses. But these relationships would also crumble to the ground without these guidelines shared and practiced among the people comprising these relationships. Once again, relationships require constant work and focus and patience – but it’s supposed to be worth it: successful, happy and healthy relationships equate to a high quality of life. Research indicates that people need other people in order to live long, happy and healthy lives, which requires happy and healthy relationships among people.
