“We are born in relationship, we are wounded in relationship, and we can be healed in relationship.”
– Harville Hendrix
The average person spends 3 hours and 15 minutes per day on their smartphone. We have more access to technology and we can connect virtually to one another as often as we would like, in mere seconds.
But are our relationships deepening at the same pace as technology?
In an 80-year Harvard Study of Adult Development, researchers found that “our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships [have] a powerful influence on our health.”
The study revealed that “Close relationships, more than money or fame, are what keep people happy throughout their lives. Those ties protect people from life’s discontents, help to delay mental and physical decline, and are better predictors of long and happy lives than social class, IQ, or even genes.”
Our relationships are quite literally life-giving to our happiness. They can breathe a new kind of energy and affect us more than we can tangibly see.
If you want to be happy, you have to invest in the relationships in your life. To invest in those, you need to create a space for open dialogue, listening, and connection.
So here’s your weekend challenge:
Out of those 195 minutes you might normally spend on your phone, take 10%, just 20 minutes to invest in your relationships: call a family member, go for a walk with your spouse, or set up a Zoom meeting with a friend you haven’t heard from in a while. Be intentional, and practice mirroring them.
As we now know, it can lead to your health and happiness!