Communicate.

This.
If everyone would just read, and do, this.

Problems in a relationship? Communicate.
Problems at work? Communicate.
Problems with friends? Communicate.

But instead, we find ourselves engaging in mind-reading, and assuming, what the other person means... or doesn't mean... and we find ourselves worried, hurt, or angry. We find ourselves worked up over nothing. We find ourselves loving more than we're loved back. All because of miscommunication.

One of the biggest reasons I've heard from clients is because they don't feel as though their mother/spouse/best friend/boss would understand them. (Hello... we're talking about communicating here!) But I wonder if we're not doing our best to communicate what we really mean.

If we find someone intimidating, or if we don't really like the other person (or if we are completely head-over-heels for them) we might not do the best to deliver our message. Instead of being direct about our thoughts and feelings, we might find ourselves hemming and hawing over the situation... not wanting to ruffle feathers, wanting to clear the air, wanting to keep peace.

But sometimes.

Sometimes, conflict needs to happen. Sometimes it's important to take a risk and share what is really going on in our minds. Sometimes it's crucial to our relationship to be honest about what we want/need from the other person. Because when things DON'T go the way we would like for them to, we can truly only look in the mirror to see that due to not communicating, our message was not delivered.