How to Never Work at a Relationship Again

A relationship can be a burden or a boon, depending on how well you and your partner work as couple. You can find happiness as a couple, but it will take honesty, insight and openness to take the work out of your relationship.

Instructions

1. Make maintaining your personal health and well-being a priority in your life. Eating healthy foods, getting regular exercise and pursuing enjoyable hobbies make you a happier person, which, in turn, makes you a better partner.

2. Talk with your partner about what you both want out of life. It's important that both of you know what the other's idea of happiness is so that the relationship naturally flows forward. Have these discussion regularly. People's goals change.

3. Be honest, but be kind. Hiding the truth from your partner sets your relationship up for future problems. If you need to bring something up that's hurtful, do it as sensitively and calmly as possible.

4. Approach problems with a good attitude as they arise. Riding out the rocky times in your relationship takes compassion and flexibility, so stay relaxed and look for creative ways out of the situation. Approach the issue with the idea that it's something to be solved rather than avoided.

5. Respect yourself and the people around you, including your partner. This encourages your partner to respect you in turn, but it also helps you develop a stronger sense of self worth and social importance.

6. Commit to living creatively. Using your imagination to add soft touches to your relationship is a healthy and fun way to protect it from the rigors of work and raising a family.

7. Keep an emotional bank account. Your partner is going to mess up, it's part of being human. But don't blow any mistakes out of proportion. Weight it against all the fine things your partner does, and you'll be able to approach any missteps with balance. You may even realize that the "big issue" isn't even worth discussing.

8. Stay awake. The person you met two years ago may have changed in ways that are subtle but meaningful. People grow and the question is whether you both will grow together or apart. When your partner shows an interest in something new and different, don't resist or feel threatened. Even if you're not changing at the moment, accepting your partner's changes will make you both acceptable. And, as a bonus, you might get nudged to change in the same direction.