Saturday, March 24, 2012
Respecting Diversity in Relationships
I really enjoyed the passage, “Respect Diversity in
Relationships” (p. 211). I think it is important to remind people that everyone
is different and every relationship is different as well. People also change
over time in relationships. It bothers me when people go into a relationship
and compare their current relationship to their last and say things like, “so
& so does not do this for me like my ex used to”, which I think is kind of
irrational. Because everyone’s personality is different, the time it takes for
a relationship to develop and reaching certain benchmarks also vary. Thus, it
is vital to be open to everyone’s uniqueness and try to adapt and work with
them to foster growth in a relationship. In addition, it is really important to
be aware of other cultures and backgrounds’ communication patterns or norms. If
we are unaware of what topics are forbidden, or invade their personal space, it
can easily push others away. First impressions are also a huge indicator of
whether or not the other person wants to make more out of the relationship or
sort of stray away from it, which is why it is so important to respect diversity in
relationships.
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This is a very interesting read! I'm glad you brought up Respect Diversity. I sometimes have many arguments or become offended by my colleagues because of their behavior. After feeling hurt or defensive, I take time to myself to sort what happened and why I was offended by their actions or statements. I try and think about the relationship I have with them and what they've told me about themselves. I then realize that maybe they act this way to me because of their childhood or the way they were brought up. Sometimes when asking personal questions I try to stray away from certain topics because I know people can be sensitive, especially when it comes to touchier subjects like family relationships and past relationships as well. I try to be conscious of their culture and the differences we have.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way you put everything in terms. I found this blog relevant to me because talked about how we must always be aware of other's cultural backgrounds and their norms because we don't know if we might cross any lines or sensitive subjects. I liked how you mentioned we must understand situations to figure out what we may have felt offended by other's actions/statements. I think sometimes I tend to overreact so stepping back and looking at what happened helps me put a perspective on things. And I like how you state that we must understand and be conscious of other's feelings and differences because that is something I learned to do this yea. Everyone and every relationship is different and there is nothing wrong with that.
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