BARNES AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Massachusetts --   The way someone relates to their family, friends and co-workers says a lot about them as a person. Relationships require work...sometimes they require an extraordinary amount of work. They are the foundation of our lives. Take care of them and you will find yourself surrounded by devoted individuals who care about you and want to help you. Let your relationships suffer and you will suffer with them.

Many people neglect their most important relationship; the one they have with themselves. If your inner relationship is in disarray it will be extremely difficult to foster good relationships with those around you. Take care of yourself first. Let that be the model for the way you interact with others. If you want to change the way people interact with you, you will need to change the way that you interact with them. The world is built on the "cause and effect" concept.

Take some time to evaluate and reflect upon the relationships in your life. Are they what they should be? Are they what you want them to be? What can be done to improve upon them? Think of relationships of your past, the good, the bad and the ugly and what made them that way. History is an excellent teacher.

The great thing about relationships is that a small amount of effort has the potential to yield significant results. What are you prepared to do to maintain and build relationships in your life?