Unbalanced Relationships

Relationships require both people to participate equally. This includes that both should have the same amount of power so that one is not belittled by the other. Being in an unbalanced power relationship can lead to unhappiness, discomfort, low self esteem, and can even result in violence. Being in this type of relationship is neither healthy nor fun. If you feel that someone is controlling you than it is a sign that they have power over you. On the other hand, when you have power over someone, it may make you feel good at first, but you will never make that person truly happy. Having power can be great but it can also be destructive. In many instances, people take their authority over board and abuse their power. An example of this would be at the work place. It is an employee’s duty to do their job but it is also a boss’s duty to not belittle their workers. In many cases, employees will be scared of their boss and will never stand up for themselves because they need the job. A boss should know their power limits and have boundaries so that the work place will not become an uncomfortable environment with unbalanced power relationships.

Competition and Cooperation

A concept I enjoyed from this chapter was competition VS cooperation. Competition is something we are used to because many events consist of it such as sports, beauty, fashion, intelligence and much more. We are constantly competing with others over something and some of that competition is fun but most of it can turn ugly. On the other hand, we do not usually see cooperation because it is the idea of helping each other instead of going head to head.

Competition is huge in the media because we always cheer for our sports team to beat the other. This is something the whole world does so not that big of a deal. It is when the competition gets out of hand and people do not know how to handle it, that it gets dangerous.

Cooperation should be made more public because instead of always trying to be the best or the first, we can help each other and achieve whatever the goal is.

As for myself, I usually find myself in football competitions. I am a Niner Faithful so I will always cheer for my team, but at times the competition with friends who root for other teams can become uneasy. I think that we should all respect each other’s teams and of course we will root for our team, but we should cooperate not to let it get out of hand and make a simple fun sports game turn into an ugly fight and even the end of a friendship.

Trust Can Make or Break Relationships

Having a healthy and good relationship most certainly requires trust. This can be in any type of relationship whether it is friends, family or significant others.

I have lost trust in many people throughout my life and most of those people I no longer speak to. There are different levels of trust and each person has their own limits as to what they can and cannot handle. The person I want to talk about for this post is my dad. My dad is wonderful and has always been there for me, but I do not have that close father-daughter relationship with him. We speak and all, but it is not the way it used to be and I do not think it will ever be like that again.

As I grew up and started understanding issues of trust and relationships, I realized my dad would always lie to me and my mom. Not about cheating on her, but about the smallest things that are just ridiculous to me. He has always had issues with saving money and that is where he broke the trust I had with him. He just cannot keep his word and that really ended our close relationship. The trust I had in him will never be restored because every time I give him a chance and try to trust him, he just messes up again. Of course we will always be close, but not the way we used to because of those trust issues that will always linger in my mind. This makes me feel bad because I wish I had that “daddy’s little girl” relationship with my dad, but I realized and came to terms that it will not happen.

Trust is a big issue in all relationships. Once it is lost, it is difficult for both sides to continue having that good relationship.