“Your relationship with yourself is the most important relationship you’ll ever have,” according to Jennifer Keitt from Atlanta’s Keitt Institute. Explaining that having positive connections with ourselves shapes our relationships with others, Keitt kicked off a summer of webinars from the Army Resilience Directorate focusing on relationships, consent, and ethical character.

June’s presentation included the opportunity for participants to take a pre-webinar character assessment and obtain a workbook for use during and after the webinar. Keitt discussed the importance of understanding individual character strengths, breaking them down into ‘buckets,’ explaining that no two people are the same, and that often, the differences complement each other. Understanding this concept can help create, navigate, and maintain positive relationships with ourselves and others.

In July, Annie Forrest of New York’s One Love Foundation built on those ideas and discussed how to determine the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships, the importance of setting boundaries and consent in relationships, and tools and ideas to make these connections grow positively. The Foundation believes that 100% of people are in relationships and that 100% of people can love better, especially when they are equipped with the right tools.

This month’s webinar will focus on ethics and character development with guest Pete Kilner, Ph.D., from the Simon Center for the Professional Military Ethic at West Point. The webinar will be held August 24 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. EST. For more information and to sign up to receive invitations and notifications to ARD Outreach Webinars and other events, visit the ARD website at https://www.armyresilience.army.mil/ard/ webinar.html