the emotional bank account

recently, someone asked what i value. the answer was a list of things that included family and friends. it reminded me of the 'emotional bank account' (which i think first read about in covey's book and can't remember if he came up with the term or got it from somewhere else) which essentially describes the strength of a relationship between two people. a deposit is made into the emotional bank account when an act of kindness is made, a withdrawel when the opposite occurs. the idea is to keep the account from being overdrawn.

looking back, its really interesting to think about the progression of my accounts; the ones that have been cancelled, the ones that are relatively inactive, and the ones i know will thrive my entire lifetime. at times, i take those latter accounts for granted and that really needs to change. for those are the relationships i cherish. that is what i value.