Healthy Relationship Guide
Having and maintaining a healthy relationship is hard work. If your relationship is important to you, you need to be willing to put in time, thought and effort to take care of yourself and your partner. Remember that a healthy relationship is one in which neither partner is selfish and both people have their needs met.
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Expectations
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Review the expectations you have about your relationship. To have a healthy relationship, you need to have healthy expectations. Even if you are in a solidly committed relationship, you must still anticipate having problems. Too often, people expect romantic love to make all their problems go away, as in a romantic-comedy movie. You will have conflict. The sign of a healthy relationship is not that you two do not have conflict; it is in how you handle the conflict. Express what bothers you. Tell your partner. And remember that though you should always maintain respect and love for your partner, you do not always have to like him. There will be times when you will be angry and annoyed with your partner.
Yourself
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Have a healthy relationship with yourself. To have a healthy relationship with a partner, you must first have a healthy relationship with yourself. You are responsible for your own happiness. Some relationships break up because one partner is unhappy with his life. He thinks that when his partner does not make him completely happy, it is his partner's fault. Realize that that though a healthy relationship brings happiness and meaning, you still need to make yourself happy by having a full and rewarding life, much of which will be separate from your partner. One person cannot give you everything in life. You need love and acceptance from your partner, but you also need love and acceptance from yourself.
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Time
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Keep the fun in your relationship. To keep a relationship healthy, you need to make quality time for each other. The start of a relationship is always fun and playful. To keep your relationship healthy, you need to make time to go on dates and spend time with each other as you do at the beginning of the relationship. Go out to your favorite restaurants, go to a movie. Cultivate shared activities and hobbies.
Others
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To have a healthy relationship you need to maintain healthy relationships outside the relationship. Sometimes couples get wrapped up in each other and forget about their friends and family. People need more than one person in their lives. Make sure that you continue to have friendships outside of the relationship. You do not have to spend every minute together. It's okay to do things without each other.
Communication
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Communication is the most important aspect of a healthy relationship. No matter how long you are with or how close you are to your partner, your partner is not a mind reader. It is important to communicate with your partner. Express your feelings. Ask your partner how she feels. Listen when your partner speaks. And remember, communication is not only verbal. Pay attention to your partner's body language. A healthy relationship runs on good communication.
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References
- Photo Credit love image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com
