Successful Relationships Reading Corner
This week, our topic was goodwill, not just for the holidays, but all the time, and we were pleasantly surprised by the articles we found.
Goodwill Relationships “In its simplest form “goodwill” is “intending and extending good toward other people.” Dictionaries mention words like “friendly” and “benevolent.” On a basic level the term means that no harm is done; that is, there is no “ill-will” present. On a higher level the term involves the presence of a positive attitude with active assistance. Your intention is to feel goodwill toward others, and your behavior is to extend that goodwill to them in whatever way is available and appropriate.”
Relationships: The Power of Goodwill “Research into good marriages indicates that one of the most important choices healthy couples make is to have goodwill toward each other. This may seems like a simple requirement, yet many couples have anything but goodwill toward each other.”
Goodwill is the Fertile Soil That Allows Relationships to Thrive “If goodwill is low in a relationship, it is likely the result of not seeing the innocence of your partner’s low mood behavior. We think because we know what our partner is capable of when they are thinking clearly that they should be able to choose better behavior when they are in a low mood. We even hold ourselves accountable in this way too. It looks like we should all know better and be able to choose better rather than behave badly.”