Self Love: Intrapersonal Relationships

Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Relationships

Everywhere we look, there are many relationships happening around us. This is not referring to the intimate relationships that are sucking their faces and tasting each other in public places. While they may be one type of relationship, we have to observe the other relationships that are just as important as the romantic relationships.

There are two types of relationships in this life. Interpersonal relationships and intrapersonal relationships. Interpersonal connections involve two or more people. They are your family, friends, intimate partners, co-workers, acquaintances, and classmates. These are the relationships that we form in our external world. We connect by a wide variety of outlets aside from talking face to face. Thanks to modern technology and social media, we connect with each other via the Internet (social media outlets), radio, television, letters, landline phones, and cell phones. The purpose of this type of relationship is to brainstorm ideas, discuss plans that range from invigorating workout to a wedding reception to world domination.

Intrapersonal connections are the relationships that we have with ourselves. It involves no one else but us as individuals. These relationships involve you, yourself, and no one else. They are formed in our internal world and we connect with ourselves through introspection, mediation, and journaling. The purpose of this type of relationship is to give expert advice about how you feel or think about a specific topic, issue, or experience. It is considered expert advice because only you can be an expert of yourself.

Boundaries

Speaking of being an expert of yourself, it is important to take care of yourself. That is part of having healthy relationships; in order to give love, you have to give yourself love first. That is where boundaries come in. Boundaries are important because it can help people from unnecessary drama. It can even save lives from danger. Boundaries are a way of saying that you value yourself. Here’s a scenario to consider.

Imagine if you are on a stranded island on a cool night with your close friends and everyone is in need of heat. You have a lighter in your possession, but there are no twigs or branches in the island. How will that problem be solved? Will you burn yourself to make other people warm? Or, will you find something sustainable for the night to keep everyone warm? It has to be the latter option. It’s a win-win for everyone and no one gets hurt in the process. Boundaries are needed for survival and self love.

Inner Belief System

Another way to engage within yourself is to reflect or evolve on your internal belief system. Having personal beliefs shows that you have authenticity and are willing to stand for something. Some people will run into you with a pessimistic point of view and will even get to the point of nihilism; the belief that life is essentially meaningless. Those people are only telling you half of the story. Life is meaningless when you think it is. The key word is you. We underestimate the power within us. Rene Descartes, a French philosopher said, “I think, therefore I am.” In other words, anytime you think a thought, it has a possibility of becoming your reality. So when someone thinks that life is meaningless, that’s their reality. Their perception is their reality, which brings back to the final way of becoming an expert of yourself.

The Power of Perspective

The final way of evolving yourself is to understand and evolve your perspective. Believe it or not, we are living in two worlds. We live in the world on planet Earth and we live in the world in our heads. Guess which one is more powerful? You guessed it, it’s the world in your head. Our perspective is your inner world that gives us the power to think and feel about our surroundings, situations, and life in general. However, it is important to understand that your truth may not be the truth for others. Your perspective is in charge of your belief system and your boundaries on how you want to view the world and how you want to be treated. The amazing part about it is you can choose to change your perspective on life if you feel that the old one does not serve you any purpose anymore. The best part is the only person that is in charge of your perspective, boundaries, and belief system is you. There are and have been many great people that have made an impact with not just their own life, but the life of others. The Einsteins, Lennon’s, Tesla’s, Malcolm X’s, and many more have changed the world all because of a powerful perspective. So, just imagine the potential that you have inside you. The possibilities are endless, so it is up to you how to turn your possibilities into a reality. Your only limit is you.