Week 4: Relationships
Humanities 100
I can claim with some confidence that we direct much deliberate creative and critical thinking toward forming, maintaining, and getting satisfaction from our human relationships. We know that in relationships we must give and take in the open. Another person is listening to us. If we have not thought out and understood the concepts of honesty and sincerity, if we are not clear about our personal principles, and if we are unaware of our enduring hypocrisies, our relationships can cause us much hardship. We can find that no amount of time and energy can improve the relationship without a heavy dose of thinking, reasoning, and reflecting. And then, it is likely that if we break a commitment and go on as usual we will find ourselves in a spot that is more or less where we were before.
To think about relationships requires a bit of a map. To help you do this, I have created ten general categories and placed five words under each category. The ten categories represent goods we seek in other people and share in relationships. The five words help to better explain the category. Here's the list.
Personal Status
sex, age, physical stature, religion, parentage
Position Status
income, dress, title, job, property
Self Knowledge
self respect, confidence, acceptance, assurance, regard
Personal Energy
stamina, strength, endurance, tenacity, vigor
Intellect
brains, knowledge, wisdom, intelligence, talents
Influence
connections, contacts, associates, power, network
Interpersonal Consistency
Integrity, honesty, credibility, truthfulness, sincerity
Sociability
grace, charm, charisma, poise, tact
Control
purposeful, motivated, deliberate, intentional, objective
Flexibility
enthusiastic, spontaneous, assertive, industrious, productive
Your assignment is to take each one of these categories and rank them 1 (most preferred) 5 (less preferred ) and 10 (least preferred) for each one of the following: a Friend or Partner, a Colleague or Co-worker, a Boss or Supervisor, a Teacher, and Yourself. Reflect briefly in writing on a few of your more enlightening preferences.