The Power of Connection: How Meaningful Relationships Lead to Happiness and Thriving Relationships
Cultivating Meaningful Connections
Social connection is important. It supports a healthy state of well-being. Attracting relationships that are right for you can strengthen your identity, increase your motivation and help you better live your purpose.
Science reveals that the happiest people have the richest and most satisfying relationships. Connection is important and it’s right up there with satisfying our most basic needs for survival. However, this is not to be mistaken with quantity over quality.
A book review in a 2016 publication of Comparative Psychology for Clinical Psychologists and Therapists reveals that it’s the quality of your connections that contributes towards your happiness than having a multitude of friendships/relationships. Social connection is necessary for experiencing a more a happier life, but your relationships don’t have to be based on friendship as long as a meaningful connection has been established.
THRIVING RELATIONSHIPS
In a 2015 paper published in, Current Opinion in Psychology, researchers, Brooke Feeney and Nancy Collins created a model that identifies thriving relationships having two contexts associated to them* :
Adversity support - buffering individuals from the negative effects of stress and assisting in the reconstruction process (motivating and problem solving).
Relational support - promoting full participation in life opportunities for exploration, growth, and personal achievement.
DEVELOPING CONNECTIONS
Feelings of connection increase motivation, improve your mood and make you feel happy. It’s important to have positive connections with: your colleagues, close family members and friends and people in your community. It can help boost your productivity and growth throughout your life.
When you can successfully apply your values and boundaries towards your relationships, there’s a meaningful connection. Knowing about Aristotle’s 3 types of friendships can be of benefit to you because you can better distinguish between the types of relationships you have with people by identifying which ones are the most meaningful:
Pleasure - friendships that are based on enjoyment of a shared activity. This can be the person who is your spotting buddy at the gym, but you may never invite to your house for dinner.
Friendship of virtue - people that you share same sets of values with; people that motivate you to become a better person; people that care about you and you care about them. These types of relationships are rare. Today, science points out that you only need 3-4 close friends to experience great life satisfaction, (Suzanne Degges-White Ph.D).
Utility - based on mutual usefulness. This is the most common type of relationship mainly due to the benefits each person has to offer to each other. For example, be-friending a colleague so you both can carpool to work together.
Friends based on utility and pleasure are usually in higher numbers; however, they aren’t long-lasting. As you grow, your interests are always changing. It may take time to develop virtuous friendships because these types of relationships are the most aligned with your core values and beliefs. Aristotle believed that before this type of friendship could flourish, you must take the time to understand and honour yourself and know your values.
