3 Reasons You Need to Build Strong Relationships

I don’t care how much of an introvert you are, you can’t reach your personal growth goals alone. Partly because you are going to need help (everyone does!) and partly because some of your needs can only be met by building strong relationships with other people.

You may be familiar with Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs — the needs that he theorized we must meet in order to become self-actualized (or, to realize our full potential). One of those needs, at the very middle of the hierarchy, is Love/Belonging Needs.

I believe that our inability to meet our Love and Belonging needs is what keeps us from realizing our full potential (self-actualization) — we remain stuck in the Expectation Gap. Which is why it is so important to focus some of our personal growth efforts on building strong relationships.

And here are 3 reasons building strong relationships needs to be one of your personal growth goals:

1. You Can Learn From Someone Else’s Experiences – The best way to learn anything is by doing it. The second best way is by listening to the personal stories of someone who has already done whatever it is you want to do.
2. You Can Practice Empathy – According to F. Diane Barth L.C.S.W of Psychology Today, “Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” Practicing empathy will help you build strong relationships, and it will help you meet your Love/Belonging needs.

Keep scrolling for reason #3.