What the Business World Can Teach Us About Relationships

In the business world we know "innovate or perish" we know "nothing ventured, nothing gained". In our intimate relationships what we seem to prefer is "leave well enough alone" and "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". What's that all about? We know that a business, allowed to chug along will eventually encounter sagging sales and declining customer satisfaction - and yet somehow believe that our intimate relationships are not subject to the same tendencies?

Going one step further, in the business world we know "what's the latest and greatest" and "where's the next great idea". In our intimate relationships we seem to prefer "well, nothing's perfect" and let's "settle down". What's that all about? We seem to believe that business is all about growth and possibility and innovation and excitement - and that our intimate relationships don't really warrant the same consideration?

Chances are that two of the major life needs that your relationship provides for you are the element of comfort and security. And chances are that there is no one else in this world who knows you as fully as your partner does or that knows your partner as well as you do. And chances are there is no one else whose fortune is as linked to yours as closely as is your partners. And chances are that there is no one you trust or feel you can depend on as much as you can your life partner. So why do we tend to treat this relationship with varying degrees of benign neglect?

Probably because that's just not we've seen being modeled to us and besides we've all grown up and exist in an individualistic and me focused culture that has made a near-religion out of the worship of the individual. It's not that we don't recognize relationships to be valuable and desirable - it's just that we believe that they aren't really apart of taking me where I need to go and allowing me to leave my mark on the world. Of course if they fall apart they tend to make a serious impact on our ability to effectively achieve anything, at least for a while. So they can take us down, they can keep us in a comfort zone, or...

Is it possible that the majority of good relationships that already exist in this world are only operating at 10% of the capacity that they have - capacity to create change, evolution and even happiness. Is it possible that two authentic, conscious and evolving people partnered in an authentic, conscious and evolving relationship which leverages itself into the world might manifest all kinds of "next great ideas and innovations"? Is it possible that we just don't exactly know how to leverage relationships in that manner and quite how to handle the change, evolution and happiness that would ensue? That if we could figure out the how, then our chances of achieving whatever our particular individual and collective passion called for would be exponentially increased?

I wonder - what would happen if we permeated our intimate relationships with the "what's possible" mentality? Are you willing to find out?

Explore with us by coming to our web site at http://www.developingfutures.com, joining our mailing list and engaging in the exciting possibilities of (r)evolutionary relationship.