Trust is the glue that connects people, but to trust someone else, we first need to trust ourselves. We need to define and accept our values, self-worth, talents, and assets. To invest in a relationship with another person, we must know how much we’ve invested in the relationship with ourselves and whether there’s a balance.

We need to trust ourselves when we face conflict so we can endure the situation and hold ourselves and others accountable without breaking down. When we avoid conflicts, we create conflicts within ourselves. When we allow other people to step over our boundaries, we damage our relationships with them and with ourselves.

You earn social status by displaying a trait or talent that others consider worthy of respect, so social status is more about what others see than what you actually have. Power can come from social [...]

We can and should hold people of value accountable for their actions by forming relationship contracts with them. A relationship contract allows two responsible adults to agree on certain values, boundaries, and a framework of trust to build a healthy and successful relationship.

We often mask our true feelings, suppressing authentic reactions to external situations because we’re afraid of being vulnerable or losing face.

Although we constantly fear relationships going out of control, the reality is that we have none. Our minds merely seek patterns.