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<h3><br>
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<div align="left">Good Morning:<br>
<br>
Hope everyone had a great weekend. I wish that we really could live in
fairy tales and that life (relationships) always had happy
endings.......instead of endings. Reality kicks in and old man Walt
isn't here with a magic script so we have to struggle through it and
figure out which was is...... I offer you some thoughts to ponder.
Have a great day.<br>
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<h3><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">Healthy
& Problematic Expectations in Relationships</font></h3>
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<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">It
is not unusual for relationship conflicts to originate in the
expectations or “shoulds” we hold regarding relationships. Each of us
enters a romantic relationship with our own unique hopes and
expectations. We dream that this other person might perhaps be the
“one” for us. We have some notions about what we do and don’t want
based on family relationships, what we’ve seen in the media, and our
own past relationship experiences. Sometimes our expectations of our
partner or a relationship are unrealistic, unfair, and even
self-defeating. Such expectations may doom a relationship to be
unsatisfying and eventually to fail.<br>
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<h2>Building Healthy Relationships<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p>Healthy relationships allow for individuality, bring out the best in
both
people, and invite personal growth.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p><strong>Getting Close</strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Developing meaningful relationships is a concern for all of us.
Getting
close to others, sharing our joys, sorrows, needs, wants, affections,
and
excitements is risky business. What is it that interferes with us
getting close
to each other? Often it is one or more of these common fears:<o:p></o:p></p>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style=""><i>Fear of becoming known as we really
are.</i> Opening ourselves to others and their reactions is not only
difficult for us, but is puts a demand on others to be likewise. <o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style=""><i>Fear of pain and disappointment.</i>
Mass media and advertisers have tried to convince us that we should be
100% happy 24 hours a day. Hurt, pain, disappointment, and loneliness
are not comfortable feelings, but they are human. Without the risk of
experiencing them, one can never experience loving and being loved. <o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style=""><i>Fear of losing our freedom.</i> Can
I risk giving up some of mine to care about you without you wanting to
take it all away? Can I be both close and separate with you? <o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style=""><i>Fear of being a taker as well as a
giver.</i> It is difficult for most of us to receive, yet if we don't,
no one can experience the joy of giving to us. <o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style=""><i>Fear of judgement.</i> People are
reluctant to disclose themselves because they dread the moral judgement
of their friends, family, minister, and the law. <o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style=""><i>Fear that showing love and
affection is not proper.</i> This is especially true for men, but NOT
restricted to them. Somehow we have been convinced that this is a sign
of weakness rather than a sign of courage. <o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Levenia<br>
918-465-1757<br>
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