How To Have The Greatest Relationship Of Your Life

Most adults grow up watching movies where women are portrayed as princesses and men as their knights in shining armor conquering war after war. In some other romantic movies, the lovely couples are portrayed as perfect couples and eventually rides off into the sunset in a country side home or to Beverly hills and become neighbors with maybe a top celebrity and live happily ever after.

Read: Why You Should Forgive-12 Benefits Of Forgiveness

But no one actually teaches us the things we need to do to have our “happily ever after” in any part of the world we decide to call our home.

Here are 15 things you can do to have the greatest relationship ever:

1. Treasure and honor your connection.

Most people start off well in their relationships; great bonding between them, sorting out ways to improve their relationships, etc. But along the line become complacent about the whole process.

Dear don’t take your relationship for granted. Don’t get too relaxed like you’ve arrived at your destination and no need to work on your relationship. Complacence is one of the greatest silent relationship killer. Many a times we get too comfortable and stop trying to make our partner happy, you think your partner should also know how you feel without telling them where it hurts you and when they don’t, you pick offence or try to hurt them back. It doesn’t work that way.

Honor what you have. Cherish it. And above all, communicate to your partner that you value their presence in your life else someone out there might do it on your behalf.

Read: Sweet Words To Turn On Your Significant Other

2. Don’t expect any form of perfection from your partner.

We all want a perfect prince or princess as a partner but we all know that perfection in an individual remains a myth as no one is 100% perfect. So instead of looking at your partner’s faults and focusing on what they should change, accept them as they are and if it’s something you can’t tolerate in marriage, it’s best to take a bow now.

But if you can, focus on their good. Develop and keep feeding the good aspect and you’ll reach a place of calm acceptance and have a peaceful relationship with time.

Read: What To Do When In A Verbally Abusive Relationship

3. Talk with your partner about how much impact you have on each other.

With reference to #1, no one is a mind reader and some people don’t know how their actions affects those around them. So you need to talk to your partner about their behavior both how they behave in the house and outside the house.

Note: not only the negative impacts, but the positive as well. If you want your partner to change something, gently ask without criticizing them. If you think your partner is awesome, tell them, thank them for their good. Remember it’s all about developing and working towards having an “happily ever after” as the ultimate goal.

Read: How to Communicate Better For Healthy Relationship

4. Look at a fight with your partner with the eye of an outsider looking inward.

Read: How To Fight Fair In A Relationship And Grow Stronger

Conflicts are somewhat inevitable in relationships. But the ability to step outside yourself and view the conflict as an objective outsider is important if you must enjoy your relationship.

This helps you see your partner’s point of view differently and helps to build a better you.

Most relationships are at the brink of collapse because most people have a “me vs you” approachfrom the beginning of their differences. They view it as a battle against the enemy. Instead, you should have a “we or team mentality”.

Remember that a healthy relationship is not built on a single partner. You’re both in this relationship together, so you have to come up with solutions together “A team spirit is needed if you must succeed in your relationship”.

Read: 14 Things You Should Never Say In A Relationship Fight

5. Grow friendship before partnership with your partner.

You are probably more forgiving of your friends than you are of your romantic partner and this is because you aren’t friends yet.

Read: 45 Revealing Best Friend Questions that’ll Make You Closer

You’re probably forgiving of your friends because you don’t put as many expectations on your friends as you do on your significant other. A solid foundation as best friends with your partner first is the best way to build a long-term blissful relationship.

6. Discuss with your partner on building more closeness by practicing empathy.

With reference to #5, empathy is key to any great relationship. This is the ability to see the other person’s point of view and show them that you value how they feel. It’s all about understanding how your part feels per-time.

You don’t have to agree with them on everything but allow them to express their feelings without you making them wrong. This allows you to check your perceptions and helps your partner feel “heard.” You also need a good listening ear too.

7. Know that emotional damage can wreck relationships.

Emotional damage can result from cheating, ignoring your partner’s feelings, withholding affection, abuse, drug abuse. Emotional damage can actually take any form other than the listed.

Emotional damage delivers cruel disappointments to relationships. So if there was an emotional injury that took place between the two of you, talk about it, fix it and don’t ever try to ignore it.

Read: How To Build Emotional Intimacy In A New Relationship

8. Support each other’s hopes and dreams.

Maybe you want to open a fitness center or your partner wants to go back to school to acquire more knowledge, you both need to be supportive of each other. Even if you don’t agree with the dream or think it’s silly, you still need to encourage your partner to go for it because it’s not your dream but theirs. Being your partner’s rock and biggest fan is essential to a healthy relationship. Give your partner the best of advice regarding their dreams and aspirations. You can do a little research on their behalf to guild them through making the right decisions.

9. See if you can each share what you need most.

With reference to #7, it doesn’t help to suppress your emotions. At the moment,it might make your relationship appear peaceful, but it isn’t. Both of you need to keep your emotions checked and continuously share them with your partner.

This way, nothing will be a surprise.

10. Give your relationship the best attention.

Relationships are like flowers. Flowers can be extremely beautiful (relationships) but they need to be watered every day. They daily need your attention to blossom. If you don’t feed your relationship, it will die. Relationships needs nourishment just as much as flowers.

Read: Relationship Guidelines For A Healthy Relationship

You can’t ignore your relationship and expect it to flourish. It requires constant attention from both of you to flourish.

11. Have a shared relationship goal and find a way to achieve them together.

Most often, we don’t usually think in terms of “relationship” goals while in a relationship. It sounds adsorb to most people. But just as you would have a career/business goal, you should have a relationship goal(s) together.

Goals like: getting marriage, buying a house, having kids/number of kids, etc. It’s helpful to have shared goals outside personal goal.

12. Create rituals/moments in your relationship.

Rituals are an important part of relationships. It helps to have rituals that you do as partners. It could be going on a date night on specific day of the week. Maybe on a Friday or on a Saturday, you chose a day convenient for you two.

Read: Why Are Date Nights So Important

Some rituals involve celebrating your anniversary each year at the same restaurant where you first met or celebrating anniversaries with the homeless or at care homes. Or maybe it’s an idea of going on a picnic once a month/quarterly. Rituals helps in maintaining a healthy relationship. Rituals could be preparing a particular meal together on specific day/date.

Read: How To Reconnect with Your Partner For Sparkling Romance

13. Help each other in any little way.

It’s really easy to express love once you know the love language of your partner. Do all you can to understand your partner well enough to know their love language and use that to your advantage and to the betterment of your relationship.

Some of the little things you could do to make your relationship stronger includes the following: Doing the dishes, rubbing your partners’ shoulders when they seem stressed, helping with the vacuum, calling your partner just to say “you love them”, bring home a single rose to express your love, preparing meals together, help with grocery, etc. These are simple things that don’t cost a much.

These things you probably count as nothing are highly valued, especially by women. It shows attention, affection and desire.

14. Don’t take things too seriously.

There’s no perfect partner; hence you don’t need to take things too seriously. Try to laugh things out. Laugh at your own flaws and see tension evaporates into the thin air. Laughter is a good medicine. Moreover who doesn’t like to laugh?

Read: The 15 Best Ways To Avoid Annoying People

Note that over time, relationships get stressful and sometimes people forget to laugh or what it means to laugh. People start focusing on their partner’s negatives and they become resentful.

Try to look at everything your partner does and in life as funny, yet serious so they don’t feel bad. This lightens the relationship making you approachable.

“Couples that laugh together, stay together”.

15. Equate your partner’s needs with yours.

Most people are naturally selfish. We always put our needs first before others. The fact is that there are times when you are a little selfish and that’s fine as long as you aren’t selfish all of the time.

If you only worry about your needs and you ignore your partner’s, then they will eventually grow bitter. People need to know that their partner loves them enough to put them first‒at least some of the times.

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