Where We Go Wrong in Relationships

Hi, and welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. In today's session we're going to talk about how your relationship or future relationship connects to your needs and wellbeing. So here's the thing, your partner can't be everything for you and you can't be everything for your partner. You, yourself will certainly have strengths and qualities that are unique to others and will be highly compelling and attractive to your partner. And your partner will certainly have strengths and qualities that are unique to them and will be highly compelling and attractive to you.

However, you won't have everything your partner needs and your partner won't have everything you need. You may appreciate your partner for their compassion and humor, but you might also have a need for deep, philosophical conversations. And that's just not their particular strength. This is okay. And this is very normal.

It's okay to rely on a multi-dimension social circle that helps satiate your various interests and needs as long as it's within the co-created boundaries of your relationship. Expecting one person to be everything for you is a quick path to resentment. And part of mindfulness practice is the recognition that being human is complex and that it's important to challenge our beliefs that may be confining us to a one dimensional way of thinking about how things should work or how relationships should work. So whether you're currently in a relationship or you hope to be in one some day, notice if there's an expectation that your partner fulfills all your needs and that you fulfill all of their needs. And if so, see if you can expand your perspective to explore with your partner, how some of those needs can be met in other ways.

Thank you for your practice and let's settle in for our meditation.