How's Your Personal Foundation Holding Up?

My husband and I are in the process of adding a bathroom and some extra square footage to our master bedroom, and just about every step of the construction process has me thinking about how building a house is just like building a life.

The foundation, of course, is one of the most important parts.

Ours required design drawings by an engineer and an inspection by a county expert. Everything that went into those key support walls had to be perfect. Or else the house could fall in on top of us.

If only construction of our own personal foundations followed the same protocols.

What would an engineer tell you that you had to have at your core to keep you feeling solid?

What would an inspector insist that you couldn't skimp on, lest you cause your own walls to come crashing in on you?

Without the right foundations, we're just not equipped to weather life's storms, stay strong when we're tired, or hold it together on those days when the weight of the roof feels so darn heavy.

Everything rests on the foundations we build.

If I had to sketch up a structural rendering of mine, it would include things like time in nature, laughter, affection, rest, education, and really delicious food. Those are just a snapshot of what I need to keep myself sturdy in the world.

What would you use to build your foundation? And is it intact right now or do you need to fill some cracks? 

3 Little Questions That Can Transform Your Relationships

A couple weeks ago, I wrote a post for Mimosa Lotus about the 3 questions relationship-seekers should ask before they dive into the dating process.

1. How do I want my ideal date/mate to treat me?

2. How am I treating myself? 

3. How can I bring these two things into alignment?

(You should really go read the full post, but those give you an overview of the thinking.)

As I thought about the post later, however, I realized that these 3 questions apply to every kind of relationship—not just the dating variety.

Want your coworkers to show you respect? Consider how you're showing respect to yourself.

Wish your spouse would be more attentive to your needs? Start attending to yourself more regularly.

Want your family to be more supportive of your ambitions? Make sure you're supporting yourself with the way you think and speak.

It's easy to fall into the trap of believing that a relationship's success or failure is determined solely by how you treat the other person and the other person treats you, but one of the biggest components is how you treat yourself.

And the good news is, you have complete control over that.