The Art of Compromise

In my previous entry I wrote about simplicity, how we miss the simple but most profound moments because we are blinded by our "wants".

In line with that, I thought of another interesting thing which is crucial if one wants a lasting relationship and that is COMPROMISE.

I was having a discussion with one of my coleagues today about living with people, be it in a shared household, in a community, and anywhere else. During this discussion we found ourselves mentioning the word compromise. It is interesting to note that in every relationship, be it with people at work, friends, spouses, family, there is need for compromise.

As we all know by now, each person is unique in a sense that we all have different characters and behaviour which describe who we are. The interesting thing is that even though we may be 99% happy with ourselves characterwise we may be 40% a pain to someone else. What do I mean by this? Not everything we do which is pleasant and amusing to us can be pleasing to others, and the vice versa is also true. This is where compromise comes in.

When we talk of compromise we talk of tolerating people to a certain extent by learning and understanding them. In which ever type of relationship there is need for sacrifice and patience in order to learn and understand the other party. This is not easy but it does pay off in the long run.

With compromise one must accept to give up part of what they like for the sake of the other. To tell the truth this is not easy. The interesting thing is that compromise is not only for one partner in the relationship, but both partners have to be willing to give up something in oder to produce a better and lasting relationship. If you are not willing to compromise dont expect your partner to compromise and also with the same measure you compromise for someone in a relationship you should expect to get the same from the other party (sometimes its not the case). At the end of the day there is need for a better understanding between the parties involved in a relationship in order to reach a compromise and build a lasting relationship.

In as much as we compromise in a relationship we should learn to make a "wise" compromise.

Whew! I think I stop here for today.
Best wishes