Interpersonal Expertise Tip: Utilizing Relationships to Increase Access to Our Potential (and Helping Others Do the Same)
by Dr. Brian Higley | Add comment
One of the most popular lines in movie history is the famous “you complete me” line that Tom Cruise said to Renee Zellweger near the end of the movie “Jerry Maguire.” This is a truly memorable movie line, but it can perpetuate one of the major myths to relationship satisfaction: the idea that significant others (business partners, friends, romantic partners) “complete” us. It sounds nice at first, but what happens when that other person is not in our life (either temporarily or permanently)? We are left as an incomplete person! This Interpersonal Expertise Tip focuses on how to create relationships that help us to access more of our potential – rather than cultivate feelings of dependency – while also encouraging growth in significant others in our lives as well.
Allowing our relationships to promote personal growth rather than dependency can be facilitated by a realization that such relationships can help us become more of who we already are (and provide the same opportunity to others). Here are some ways people have been able to utilize their relationships to access more of their own potential and help others do so at the same time: (more…)
