6 Early Relationship Behaviors That Signal It'll Last Forever
How to set a foundation for a long-lasting relationship.
Helena Lopes | Unsplash Almost all couples who are in a serious and committed relationship want to make it last forever. Who wants to invest their time, effort, and emotion in someone who'll break their heart in the end, right?
People in long-term, healthy relationships exhibit some common behaviors. It takes more than communication, trust, and love to have a healthy relationship.
If you are in a new relationship and wonder what you should do to have the best chance of being with your partner forever, consider trying these 6 behaviors.
Here are 6 early relationship behaviors that signal it'll last forever:
1. Accept each other for who you are
Do you and your partner accept each other for who you are without trying to change each other? If the answer is yes, then most likely you'll stay together longer — even for a lifetime.
Accepting your partner for who they are means you accept his beliefs, weaknesses, and habits whether they are the same as yours (or not).
Trying to change a man may just cause problems because you're telling him that you're unsatisfied with him and you don’t admire him. This will emasculate him and may lessen his love for you.
Whatever bad habits he may have that you don’t like, if he loves you and he feels that he's accepted, he'll change these habits just to please you.
2. Learn to apologize sincerely
Apologizing does not mean that you are guilty or responsible for the conflict.
Apologizing, especially when what you have done has caused the other person pain, is necessary because it can open doors to communication. This will help you to reconnect with the person you have hurt.
It sometimes serves as the guide to resolution and restoring positive feelings, thus repairing your relationship.
3. Have a life outside of your relationship
A healthy relationship does not mean that you should always be with your partner 24/7. You should leave some space for each other’s personal growth.
Being with your partner all the time can be suffocating and you may both lose your identity or your true self.
This may also lead to blaming your partner that you have missed so much in your life because you worry that not spending all your time with him could ruin your relationship.
You and your partner have your own goals, dreams, hobbies, interests, and purpose. Both of you need to pursue all of these for your happiness and self-fulfillment.
So don’t be afraid to ask for your personal space and also to give your partner his own space as well.
4. Don't blame your partner for your relationship unhappiness
Sometimes, when you're frustrated, stressed, disappointed, or even bored in your relationship, you tend to blame your partner because of your unhappiness. It's easier to see your partner's faults.
If you want to be happy in your relationship, you need to stop focusing your attention on your partner’s imperfections. Instead, you should focus more on how you're going to change the way you react to your partner’s flaws and your behavior.
5. Show your appreciation
Appreciating a person makes them feel good about the effort that they have exerted. Sometimes you forget to say “thank you” to your partner when you're used to him always helping you. Not acknowledging your partner’s effort makes them feel they're being taken for granted.
When you show your appreciation to your partner, you make them feel that they're valuable and mean a lot to you. They'll feel happy and loved because you make them feel that you're grateful for what they did and in return, they'll make you feel appreciated when you do something for them.
Photo: Katerina Holmes/ Pexels
6. Keep relationships private and off social media
Keeping your relationship private is not the same as keeping your relationship a secret. It means you should keep your relationship sacred and away from the influence of people and their opinions.
Nowadays, social media has become a personal diary for most of us — a digital diary that contains all your memories, experiences, and emotions. The thing is, instead of keeping our diary private, we share this to the World Wide Web where people can see our entries or posts.
Every time you share or post about your relationship on social media, you open up to people’s opinions; not everyone will rejoice with you in your happiness. Plus, you are putting pressure on your relationship.
There’s nothing wrong in posting and sharing your relationship on social media as long as it is in moderation and you are cautious of what you are sharing.
Not all couples are the same, but most couples who are in long-term relationships have these common behaviors in keeping their relationships strong and long-lasting.
Esther Bilbao helps mentor women to have better relationships, health, and personal development.