Welcome to the simple Sophisticate Podcast, where intelligent living is paired with signature style.

I'm your host, Shannon Ables.

And whether you're listening on your commute, exercising, working in the garden, or sitting down with a hot cup of tea or a

cafe ole, thank you for tuning in. Let's get started. The Depending on one's disposition, the beauty or frustration of building relationships involves two types of ingredients, one which is completely

in our power and the other one that is absolutely not in our power.

For example, for those ingredients that are definitely within our power,

for example, our thoughts, our behaviors, our willingness to take risk, to invest, to trust.

It's refreshing to know that we have the capacity to really help or hinder, if we choose wrongly, a relationship based on our actions, our choices.

That's huge. But those that are not in our control, much like Mother Nature are unpredictable. Hard to understand yet

simple sometimes to explain in hindsight because while we can be true to ourselves as well as be our best selves, we don't know if the people

we encounter on any given day will be a breath of sunshine or a bolt of lightning.

We just don't know. We have no control over that.

Even if it is going to work and seeing the same people every day, we still don't know the other

variables that bring other people into our lives. However, as social means we need

some level of interaction. Now some will need more if you're more on the

extroverted side and some will need less if you're more introverted like

myself but we do need others to some capacity if we want to become or allow ourselves

to be our best selves,

our fullest selves, to reach our full potential.

One of the pillars of a simply luxurious life,

which I spoke about actually in the first episode

of the Simple Sophisticate Podcast is this idea that we need healthy, strong

...