Hello friends,
how are you? Hope the weekend was kind to you.
It almost feels like Monday today, I mean if you’re a regular on my website you must be wondering how come T. Dench Patel didn’t post out an article yesterday? Well, I am sure you’re going to be looking forward to reading the article titled What two days of not having electricity taught me. I will try to immerse you into that thoroughly, and I will try and fully charge my writing skills up for that, otherwise, I would not be doing my job as a writer properly.
Yes, Sunday and Monday we had no power whatsoever. Maybe I will also write an article about the time where I was homeless for two months in Spain. After having no power for two days, I got confirmation that I am still a very resilient person, but most of all I have been taught that you really do need people in your life, once again, no one, but no one can make it on their own. Hey, this brings us nicely into the title of this article, Interdependence.
Interdependence in terms of business
Interdependence according to this article What it means to have a culture of interdependence? is as follows, “Interdependence is all about people working together in teams. Those teams cross geographic, functional and organizational bounds as many of the people on core delivery teams may often work for different companies. The lines between employees, contractors, suppliers, allies, partners, customers and competitors often blur beyond recognition.”
“Matrix organizations succeed with people working together interdependently to deliver shared objectives. They collapse when people put their own personal or functional objectives ahead of the common good. Thus, the leader’s main role in an interdependent, matrix organization is to enroll people through the use of formal or informal team charters.”
Take a look at the above article which explains this image around the concept of interdependence.
From the article titled What it means to have a culture of interdependence?
The Japanese seem to have interdependence incorporated into their culture whereas much of the western world seems to fall into a culture of independence. Also, with the Japanese culture health and wellbeing is promoted through relational harmony while in the western world health and wellbeing is promoted through personal control, thus independence, however stating this independence grows self-esteem and self-worth while interdependence grows emotional connection of more than one person. When one looks at how Japan trades, interdependence is used to also bring about more fairness. To understand the way Japan trades, take a look at this slide on this link, which explains how Japan benefits from Brazil and Brazil from Japan. https://prezi.com/evzubmlmqdnk/how-interdependent-is-japan/
When I read texts that come up from the old testament or the new testament and what I know thus far about Christianity it does try to relay what some eastern cultures and tribes already practise even if they do not have something akin to the bible. Every community there is, be it one where there is a community of entrepreneurs, churchgoers, temple goers, funeral gatherings etc, it’s natural to understand the concept of “live humbly for others” as well at the concept around love.
Interdependence in terms of romantic relationships and relationships
I mean let’s face it, not many people are talking about interdependence on an ongoing basis.
Having a connection with people, do you remember your school days? The natural connection before were such a thing like political correctness etc. came along. Come on, I bet you remember the relationships where there was nothing to read, where a mistake was a mistake, where an argument was just an argument, and if you were no longer friends life goes on. Eventually, you get older and you remember how stupid that argument at that age was. Mostly, if you’ve lived where you’ve lived your entire life, you’d realise what long-term relationships really mean and that it heavily requires quality emotional connection.
Let’s look at what this interdependence looks like in a romantic relationship and why it’s necessary according to the article on the link further down.
“Interdependence suggests that partners recognize and value the importance of the emotional bond they share while maintaining a solid sense of self within the relationship dynamic.
An interdependent person recognizes the value of vulnerability, being able to turn to their partner in meaningful ways to create emotional intimacy. They also value a sense of self that allows them and their partner to be themselves without any need to compromise who they are or their values system.”
As you read the article on the link below, I thought this is something very important to point out. Emotional intimacy with a partner can be difficult to achieve, even scary or not seen as particularly valuable in a relationship, for those who have an extraordinary sense of independence.
It’s important to point out as the article states, interdependence is not co-dependence.
Traits of a co-dependent relationship include things like:
- Poor/no boundaries
- People-pleasing behaviors
- Reactivity
- Unhealthy, ineffective communication
- Manipulation
- Difficulty with emotional intimacy
- Controlling behaviors
- Blaming each other
- Low self-esteem of one or both partners
- No personal interests or goals outside the relationship
This article on the link further down is really good, please have a full read as it will provides a solution on how to build an interdependent relationship.
Interdependent relationships provide a balance where one does not only have freedom between two or more people. One is not heavily dependent on a sense of self or worth and there is no fear or guilt in the relationship between one or more persons of what will happen in the relationship.
Just a few more points to note down from the article on the link below:
Characteristics of an Interdependent Relationship
A healthy, interdependent relationship can be recognized by some of the following:
- Healthy boundaries
- Active listening
- Time for personal interests
- Clear communication
- Taking personal responsibility for behaviors
- Creating safety for each other to be vulnerable
- Engaging and responding to each other
- Healthy self-esteem
- Being open and approachable with each other
When partners feel cherished and valued, the relationship becomes a safe haven and a place where the couple can be interdependent. This means that they understand they are not alone in the relationship, can turn toward each other safely in times of need and feel secure that their partner will be present.
Please read the article in full detail, as I am just summarising it to important points to take note of.
Licensed psychotherapist Sharon Martin, LCSW suggests it is important to maintain a sense of self in your intimate relationships. She suggests the following ways to maintain a sense of self in a relationship:
- Knowing what you like and what matters to you
- Not being afraid to ask for what you want
- Spend time with friends and family
- Continue pursuing your personal goals
- Be mindful of your values
- Make time for hobbies and interests
- Don’t be afraid to say “no”
- Don’t keep yourself small or hidden to please others
Allowing your partner room and opportunity to do these same things will be the key to establishing a healthy, interdependent relationship.
Please take a look at this full article here How to build a relationship based on interdependence?
Here is another article that goes into the pros and cons of interdependency in terms of trade.
Human society is totally interdependent that’s a huge advantage but also a huge survival risk
Yours sincerely,
T. Dench Patel
Thank you for the comments and support. Thank you for offering to donate if there was a donate button on here. I prefer not to take donations. You can support by either purchasing one of my books (Paperback or Kindle), The South African: True Colours, The South African: Roamer or my children’s book Light. These books can be found on Amazon mainly and other sites in your country.
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Note: Do keep referring back to this site as much as possible, as I grow, a more profound perspective may form and so I will always come back to each of these articles to re-evaluate them.
