#25. Love Yourself First
If you don’t feel happy and confident with yourself, then how can you expect your relationship to be a happy one? After all, relationships reflect the combined joy (or lack of joy) that two people have as individuals. So if you want to build a strong and healthy relationship, first you must cultivate self-confidence and self-care.
#24. Watch Out For Outsiders
Whenever you have an issue with your partner, you should work it out together, just between the two of you. This means that you should avoid letting outsiders meddle in your relationship conflicts. This is always for the worse. Because how can an outsider truly understand the feelings you have towards your partner?
#23. Value The Uniqueness Of Your Relationship
Each and every bond is unique, and every couple sets its own ground rules. Therefore, it’s unwise to compare your relationship to others. Besides, relationships always have their ups and downs. So feeling that your bond is not as happy as someone else’s, is just pointless.
#22. The Importance Of Intimacy
Even though sex is important, the truth is that intimacy is what really makes a relationship last. What does being intimate imply? Being honest and opening up to one another, as well as being able to express one’s fears, worries, hopes and dreams. So don’t be afraid of expressing what you feel!
#21. Accept Each Other For Who You Are
Trying to change someone just so that they fit your idea of how they should be is not love, but egotism. Thus, true love means accepting your partner for who he or she really is. It means supporting them, and loving them in their own uniqueness. So never forget: don’t try to mold them according to your wishes!
#20. Respect Your Differences
Mutual respect is one of the main foundations of any relationship. Your partner may have experiences, thoughts or dreams that are different from yours. It all sums up to this: a happy couple can achieve unity in diversity. But talking about diversity… check out the following key for a happy relationship!
#19. Preserve Your Own Identity
It’s rather obvious that when you start a relationship, you spend at least a bit less time with your friends and family. However, some people take it to the point that they begin isolating themselves: they stop going out with their friends, they stop opening op to them. A key to a happy relationship is never to give up on your friends, your close ones, nor on your hobbies and interests.
If you agree with this, then don’t miss what’s coming next.
#18. Personal Space
In the same way that you keep on going out with your friends and preserve your hobbies, the same goes for your partner. This means that you should respect your partner’s relationships and accept whom he or she chooses to bond with. Also, accept and support whatever they choose to do with their life, both professionally, as well as hobby-wise. Basically, don’t get all manipulative. Respect, and be respected. It works both ways.
#17. Prioritize Spending Time Together
Growing up means having more and more responsibilities, which also means having less spare time. However, relationships require a great deal of commitment. So if you don’t spend enough time with your partner, your love will slowly begin to fade away. If you want a happy and healthy relationship, never forget the importance of spending some quality time together.
#16. Communication
Communication is a key element for a happy relationship. The more that remains unspoken, the greater the risk of conflicts. So if there is anything troubling you, just spill it out, because no matter how well you two know each other, your partner is not a mind-reader. But what behaviors should you avoid? Check it out in the following advice.
#15. Don’t Be Dishonest
Cheating and lying are both the most common reasons for breaking up. It’s pretty much impossible to build a strong, loving relationship on the grounds of lies. So you should always be open and honest, instead of messing with your partner’s feelings.
#14. Know How To Listen
Listening to what your couple has to say is a way of showing understanding and respect. It’s crucial to listen and bear in mind the other one’s thoughts and opinions. If you two come across any disagreement, don’t just look at things from your own perspective, but also from your partner’s.
#13. Give And Receive Love
As one of world’s most famous idioms clearly states “you should give as good as you get”. This definitely applies to love as well. If you want to get love, then give love. Don’t be selfish or self-centered. Basically, love is a matter of caring and being cared for.
#12. Mutual Support
It’s also important to appreciate how great and unique your couple is. Be thankful for who they are. This also means that you should be mutually supportive: so celebrate their victories and achievements.
#11. Discuss Your Dreams
It’s always advisable for a couple to discuss about their interests, passions, dreams, and goals in life. This will not only help build a stronger bond, but it will also allow the two of you to build collective dreams and desires. So what I’m trying to say is… sharing and talking things through works always for the best.
#10. Cultivate Common Interests
People always have their differences, even when they’re meant for each other. However, it is also wise for couples to exploit the things they have in common. So couples should search for as well as cultivate common interests, hobbies and pleasures. After all, sharing interests may strengthen your bond.
#9. A Matter Of Compromise
Every relationship requires constant compromise, especially when it comes to big and important decisions, such as deciding whether or not to raise a family. Such decisions require a two-way process of negotiation, compromise and understanding. As you can see, not all of these habits are easy to achieve, much less the following one.
#8. Sacrifices
Love is not all a bed of roses. It also involves effort, hard work, discipline and sacrifice. Love is being able to care about someone and to make sacrifices for them continuously, without it being a burden. Is this easy to accomplish? No, not even the slightest bit. But it requires humility, that for sure. Because making sacrifices usually involves putting aside your interests and dreams for the sake of your partner.
#7. Blame Is Never The Way
Even the best partner in the world can make mistakes. So it’s important to remember that blaming takes you nowhere. Or at least, nowhere good. If you make a mistake, hold responsibility for your actions. If your partner makes a mistake, then put an effort to communicate and to talk things through.
#6. Let The River Run
Of course, there will be times when you will feel annoyed or maybe even hurt by something your partner has said or done. But sometimes, it’s just a matter of letting things go. Of course, there are limits to what one is willing to put up with. Perhaps, a good exercise to put into practice is asking yourself: “Will this matter in one year’s time?”. If you think it won’t, then… Well, just let the river run.
#5. Temper Control
Every relationship has its heated arguments and fights. Sometimes things may get out of hand, and both of you may end up saying things you sooner or later regret. When you feel the anger slowly rising up your body, what should you do? Just take a deep breath, keep your mouth shut, and walk away. Talk things through after the storm has passed.
As Angel Chernoff states: “Don’t let anger get the best of you”.
#4. Appologize Quickly
Needless to say, fights and quarrels are inevitable. But when they do take place, don’t forget to apologize immediately. Especially if any of you said things you didn’t mean to. If you care about the other person, then a humble apology is always the right path.
#3. The Virtue Of Patience
When you apologize for something you have said or done, don’t expect things to magically be all right all of a sudden. Thus, waiting is equally important as apologizing is. You must be patient and wait until your couple’s anger has already worn out.
#2. Mutual Trust
You must feel safe and secure in your relationship. Of course, this one counts double: you must feel safe with yourself, but you should also trust your partner. After all, one of the most frequent troubles that haunt relationships stem from jealousy, and jealousy is triggered by a lack of trust and security.
#1. Love Despite Imperfection
Nobody in the world is perfect, not even the person you have fallen deeply in love with. This means that you must learn how to cope with your partner’s imperfections, with his or her flaws and weaknesses. To sum up: support the person you love and stand by them, especially during their times of imperfection. If you aren’t willing to do so, then what you feel can’t really be called love, can it?