10 Sweet Signs That Prove Your Love Is Strong And Made To Last
Are you and your partner meant to be?
Getty Images Without a doubt, every relationship is unique. But regardless of who or where a couple met, or the issues they're dealing with, every person (and every couple) deserves to be happy.
So, it's no surprise that one partner might question the health of their relationship when problems arise. Feeling satisfied, loved, calm, content and happy are all signs of a healthy relationship. However, when fear, sadness, discouragement, anger, and hatred creep in, we may start questioning that exact same love.
To help you know whether or not your relationship is strong and right for you, there are a few tell-tale signs to look for.
Here are 10 sweet signs your love is strong and made to last
1. You can do the things you love together, even when they're different
There are those who claim that people who love each other must have similar tastes — in music, films, hobbies, and so on. However, many successful couples thrive because of the mild differences that draw them to each other.
A relationship is healthy when partners support each other, even when they love different things. Your partner might be into baseball, while you don't enjoy sports. On the other hand, you may love watching reality television, while your partner can't stand it.
But despite not having the same interests, you attend that baseball game just as your partner sits next to you while you watch the latest episode of your show. Why? Because even though couples who have a lot in common have higher levels of marital satisfaction, couples are just as happy when they share those hobbies together.
2. You give each other space
A healthy relationship doesn't mean doing everything together all the time. In fact, when this happens, it is an indication of an imbalance in the relationship and could be a glaring sign of codependency.
Additionally, research has found that couples who tend to latch onto one another or have an anxious attachment style are lonelier and more stressed than people with a secure attachment style.
Each partner should be allowed the space to pursue their own dreams and interests. If your partner wants to play golf on the weekends, while you prefer to go to brunch with your friends, you do your own thing — separately. And it doesn't mean you love each other any less, it just means you have a life separate from one another.
The fulfillment that comes from such freedom makes a loving couple feel even closer. It also opens up other possibilities for growth in life.
3. You make decisions together
Decision-making can cause conflicts in a relationship. Even when one partner is conservative and permissive, one-sided decision-making doesn't ever work. It's only when both partners are able to consult and evaluate issues together that the relationship is truly healthy.
This also means allowing compromises where one partner's wishes do not always win. After all, relationships are based on the concept of compromise, and coming to a decision both parties agree with is an indicator of a healthy partnership.
Photo: Jack Sparrow / Pexels
4. You experience true joy in the relationship
It's interesting to see a couple fight and compete with each other while claiming they love one another. While a relationship cannot be smiles all the time, an overall general lack of joy and happiness is a red flag that the relationship isn't as healthy as it seems.
Studies have found that "those with hypercompetitiveness have a strong desire to control their partners, maintain mistrustful feelings about them, and provide little emotional support to them." And while, of course, a little friendly competition among partners is just fine, overdoing it shows the lack of happiness.
Your relationship should have a baseline level of laughter and joy. This keeps a couple going, even when they're facing tough times in life.
5. You treat each other with kindness
This means each partner in the relationship shows genuine care, sympathy, consideration, and appreciation of their mate. A relationship where partners are constantly pulling each other down cannot be healthy.
Treating each other with hate and contempt (spoken and unspoken) can spell a bleak future for any couple, whether they've been dating for a few months or married for years. Showing mutual love and respect for each other is a sign of great partnership, one where empathy and compassion come first.
6. Your relationship is built on trust
Having trust for each other means believing in one another on all levels. But that's not a notion people just say about relationships to encourage couples to have trust; in fact, research says that people value trust as an indicator of vulnerability, fidelity, and emotional closeness in a relationship.
Couples who lack trust have a tendency to hide things and keep secrets from each other. It can even seem like they are living a life separate from their partner, not sharing their true nature. The problem comes when one partner discovers the unfaithfulness of their companion, even if it's not related to cheating.
Having trust means knowing that your secrets and those of your partner are safe in each other's knowledge.
7. You engage in productive fights
One thing every couple must accept and live with is that they are both humans. This means errors will occur and disagreements will always arise. This is when fights happen, and they are completely normal.
But it's not about the amount of fights or what they are regarding; rather, it's about how couples correct those mistakes when they happen and move past them. And the best way to do that is by both partners aiming to solve whatever issue has arisen, or being solution-oriented.
Fights in relationships are not meant to end in victory. Instead, they should lead to finding common ground.
8. You build each other up
Couples who view the pursuits of each partner as meant for the good of both partners are definitely right and healthy. On the other hand, couples who don't provide emotional support in times of need are not partners at all. And it could indicate that the relationship certainly isn't a productive one.
People in any relationship should work towards making their partners better people in life. This includes supporting each other in pursuing each partner's passion, and providing a shoulder to cry on in times of need.
One of the biggest signs your love is strong and made to last is having a partner who is there for you no matter what, and makes it a point to lift you up in whatever you choose to do.
9. You have shared future goals
While no two people can be exactly the same, relationships are built on the platform of shared goals and future aspirations. A couple cannot hope for future success when they disagree on the basics of their future together!
For example, couples should generally agree on where to live, where to work, how many children they should have (or if they even want to have children), where to invest, and so on. It's these five-, 10- and 15-year plans that show just how solid your relationship is.
It's such agreements that enable people to grow in a relationship. Because without shared goals for the future, you can't expect the bond to remain.
Photo: Ketut Subiyanto / Pexels
10. You both have mutual love and attraction
When a relationship is built on something other than love, attraction, and affection for each other, its future is at stake. Those are the most basic and natural things that bond people together in a relationship, after all.
Multiple studies support the importance of attraction and mutual love in relationships, and how it "often provides the motivational spark that kickstarts a romantic relationship." And while physical attraction is important, of course, there's also emotional and mental attraction as well.
Couples in strong relationships have all of the signs listed above, and it just goes to show how much they are meant to be together.
Donna Begg is an expert editor, researcher, and analyst affiliated with Consumer Health Digest, where she works with beauty and health experts.