5 Things To Know In a Long-Term Relationship
Being in a relationship with someone you trust and care for can be the most wonderful high in the world. However, after the butterflies go away, and the honeymoon phase wears off, couples sometimes find themselves in hot water. It’s tough when you come back to reality and try to make your coupling work long-term. Here are a few relationship tips and tricks that aren’t always easy, but are absolutely worth it.
1. You both will grow and evolve at different rates.
If you are to only take away one of the relationship tips in this article, this would be the one. Not everyone’s experience in this world is the same, and we all don’t have to agree 100% of the time. That’s what makes us human and this world so special. We all perceive things in different ways, and that’s okay. Patience is critical when you’re in a loving, long-term relationship. Just do your best to try to hear the other person out.
Act instead of reacting and think before you speak. If you don’t choose your words wisely, you may risk saying something that can hurt the person you love. Even though you may not feel it is hurtful, that does not mean the other person isn’t upset.
Every relationship develops at a different rate and in different ways. Don’t judge yours based on the relationship of others. When you start to think that your friends have it good and their relationship seems perfect, understand you don’t know what happens behind closed doors. People only post and tell stories about stuff they want you to know, they don’t air their dirty laundry. And trust us, everyone has dirty laundry. That’s the messiness of being human. Without it, this world would be pretty boring.
2. Communication is key.
You’ve heard it many times before and you’ll hear it many times after this. There’s no way to have a loving and healthy relationship if honesty and communication are not on the table. The only way you can grow with one another and build a strong foundation is if you lay it all out there.
Don’t be afraid to speak your mind. It’s okay to stand up for yourself. Fight for what you believe in, know your worth, and never let anyone take advantage of you. With that being said, it’s okay to take a back seat and listen to what the other person is saying.
3. Pick your battles.
At the end of the day, sometimes you just have to let things go. Like we said before, we’re only human. We’re not going to agree on everything. What’s right for you might not be right for your significant other. Relationships are not a competition. You do not have to “win” the argument to move forward. Sometimes you have to do things that you don’t want to do.
Compromise is necessary when you’re in a long term relationship. Give to others as you would want them to give to you. What you put out into this world is also what you get back.
4. Learn how to trust each other.
Without trust, it’s difficult to form a stable relationship. If that trust is never earned or taken away, it can be hard to come back from. To build trust, make sure you check in with each other. Determine where each of you stand at this point in your life, and this far into your relationship.
Lay some ground rules. Know what to expect from each other, so your definition of trust isn’t questioned down the line. A partner wants to feel secure and comfortable in a relationship. If trust isn’t a part of the picture, it can be hard to see the relationship as a long-term option.
5. Practice emotional attunement and dig deep into your own emotional intelligence.
This is where two people have the “ability to recognize, understand, and engage with another’s emotional state.” When you’re with a person for a long time, you start to pick up on things that make them happy, sad, excited, angry, etc. Even with just a glance, you can understand what they’re feeling. Do your best to pay attention to one another. Don’t forget to make the person you love feel special and understood.
Also, always be accepting of any life or relationship tips that come your way. You might need the guidance to confirm it’s not the advice you need. Know that what matters most is what works for you; there is no definitive answer.
Bonus Advice:
One of our best relationship tips would be to take note of is from Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard. They started attending couples counseling just three months into dating. They believe it was beneficial for them to lay everything out on the table and learn the proper tools that would best benefit them and their lives together. They knew that they needed to take steps to create a solid foundation.
Many couples go to counseling as a last resort when it’s hard to forgive and remember why they became a couple in the first place. Wouldn’t it be great if we started to break the stigma and subvert the norm like Kristen and Dax? It’s important to take care of your mental health as well. There’s strength in asking for help. And don’t be afraid to ask it from your partner.
Living with a partner is hard, it can be incredibly helpful to talk to someone to better understand how to live a peaceful and fulfilling life with the person you love. Even though you care about one another, it isn’t always easy living with them.
P.S. Don’t forget to pay attention to what YOU need.
On this list of vital relationship tips, the most important one has everything to do with you. If you cannot understand what makes you tick, how do you think you can understand what’s going through your partner’s mind.
Do your best to understand yourself and become a whole person on your own. Then you can be fully giving and open. If you are not a fulfilled person, then you will drain all of your emotional energy working on yourself. A relationship cannot grow and evolve if all of that energy is used up.
