By Barbara Greenberg for KnowMore.tv's GalTime
We're all familiar with that gut-wrenching feeling when we sense that a relationship is taking its final breaths.
Whether it's happened to you in a friendship, marriage or even in a relationship with someone else who's important in your life (like your hair colorist or even your housekeeper), you simply know when you've lost your rhythm and neither of you is addressing its loss.
Maybe the guy you've been dating isn't returning your calls. Or you notice that a friend who normally giggles at your crazy stories seems bored with your antics. Perhaps the manicurist who's always had an opening for you suddenly seems to be booked solid. These issues are no small things; they're rejections and losses.
Rather than living with that sinking feeling for longer than you need to, here are three actions you can take when a relationship is fizzling out.
1. Dig deep and assess your behavior.
Take a breath and ask yourself if you've been behaving differently toward your friend or significant other. Perhaps you're inadvertently giving the other person the wrong and unintended message that you're no longer interested in him or her. If so, then ask yourself if you want to do repair work in order to get the relationship back on track.
2. Look for patterns in your relationship.
If you're sure that you've done nothing out of the ordinary, then think about how the other person is behaving differently.
Look for patterns. If it's clear that the other person has been less than enthusiastic about your presence, phone calls, etc., then consider whether or not you want to have a heart-to-heart to salvage your relationship. If you do this, then you may be able to fix things. On the other hand, you may be met with resistance and a disinterested response. In this case, you will have to make peace with the changed quality of the relationship. Hey, sometimes things just seem to fizzle out because of some sort of relationship shelf life.
3. Appreciate the relationship for what it was.
Bear in mind that relationships change in quality over time and that every relationship had a reason for being and was an opportunity to learn and grow. With this in mind, be grateful for what once was and be prepared to move on.
We all need special relationships to feel loved, happy and necessary. And, sometimes we just have to let people go.
#ROCK ON
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