This section teaches is good relationship management. Have you ever taken inventory of the people in your life and how much time you actually spend connecting with them each week? Have you gauged the health of each individual relationship and empowered yourself to cultivate the positive ones while setting boundaries on the negative ones? This is Awareness, and it’s a critical first step to improving your social well-being. Be grateful for the people who bring love, joy, and support to your life (and actively express this gratitude!), but acknowledge the trouble areas that might need your attention, too.

Dunbar’s number says that a person can really only maintain 150 relationships – either loose or close ties. But today, in our digital world, we may have thousands of relationships. People you’ve met once are now your messaging friends. You have so-called friends on gaming and video platforms. Still, you have your real-life relationships. It’s too many for the human mind to handle!

Let’s start with real-life; you might already realize that some of your relationships are unhealthy and you need to make changes. This could mean having a difficult conversation to resolve a conflict or distancing yourself from people who harm you and leave you feeling drained. It’s important to acknowledge your own needs! Drawing good people close to you and solidifying those relationships will also help keep you achieve flow in this variable. You will notice a drastic change in your well-being as the quality of your relationships improves.

Now take a deep look at how you spend time online. Digital relationships are important in our world, but they cannot replace the face-to-face time humans need to bond with one another. Do you even know how much time you spend on messaging, texts, and emails? It’s probably way more than is good for your mental health. Don’t text a friend, call them! Better yet, meet up for coffee in the park. Make time for people who are truly important to you and set boundaries on technology that sucks up your attention. We help you do this throughout the program.

At UWB, we will take a close look at online and offline relationships and figure out what we need to do to optimize them.