E73: What makes Patty Farinola with The Awareness Studio a good neighbor?  

The Journey to Healthy Relationships: Insights from The Awareness Studio

Relationships form the cornerstone of our human experience, affecting every aspect of our lives from personal happiness to professional success. Yet, many of us struggle with establishing and maintaining healthy connections. On a recent episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast, host MILLI M. welcomed Patty Farinola, founder of The Awareness Studio, who shared her inspiring journey from relationship failures to becoming an expert helping others find relationship success.

Patty's story resonates with many who have experienced the frustration of repeated relationship disappointments. As she candidly shared, "I used to say I had a faulty partner picker, so I failed at relationships a lot." Her history included a failed marriage, a broken engagement, and numerous unsuccessful relationships in between. What makes her perspective unique is that she didn't internalize these failures as personal flaws but recognized them as knowledge gaps. Growing up in a dysfunctional family environment, Patty lacked the foundational understanding of how healthy relationships function. This self-awareness led her on a transformative journey through therapy, workshops, and dedicated study of male-female dynamics, ultimately resulting in her successful 23-year marriage.

Perhaps the most profound insight from Patty's interview challenges a fundamental misconception about relationships: they don't inherently make us happy. "Relationships make us stronger if we do them well, and our happiness comes from that strength, not from the relationship," she explained. This perspective shift is revolutionary for many who approach relationships with the expectation that another person will be the source of their happiness. Instead, Patty reframes relationships as growth opportunities that build our inner strength, with happiness emerging as a byproduct of that personal development. As she aptly noted, many people are "looking for love in all the wrong places" and "looking for happiness in all the wrong places" – a misalignment of expectations that often leads to disappointment.

Another significant misconception Patty addresses is the belief that relationship work ends once marriage begins. Contrary to this popular notion, marriage represents not the conclusion of relationship effort but a transition to a different phase of relationship development. Many couples enter marriage with the false expectation that challenges will magically disappear once they've exchanged vows, only to find themselves unprepared for the ongoing work required to maintain a healthy partnership. Through The Awareness Studio, Patty helps clients navigate these misconceptions, teaching them practical skills for relationship success whether they're single, coupled, or managing workplace relationships. Her approach recognizes the universal truth that "how we do one relationship is how we do all of them," emphasizing that relationship skills are transferable across all areas of life.

To learn more about The Awareness Studio go to: 

http://theawarenessstudio.com/about/

The Awareness Studio

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