How we relate to ourselves is how we relate to all else

We have three broad relationships in life: with ourselves, with other people, and with the world. The latter two are functions of the former.

The relationship we have with ourselves creates our relationships with other people and the world.

When we change the way we relate to ourselves, we change the person that we are. And when who we are changes all of our relationships change, too.

We can think about it in this way. Relationships are relational—they are the interaction between two or more entities. When one entity changes, the interaction changes, too.

We talk about relationship chemistry, usually to refer to the degree of attraction between two people. The attraction doesn’t exist independently from the people—it’s the product of each of them. 

Relationships between people are not dissimilar to relationships between chemical elements. When one elements changes, the interaction changes, too.