How to Take Baby Steps in a Relationship

You should always feel happy that your relationship is going at the right speed.

Often a relationship can seem uncontrollable and problematic if it moves too fast, causing you to feel reluctant and uncomfortable being a part of it. To avoid this, it may be preferable to deliberately slow down the pace of your relationship in order to ensure that you feel content and optimistic about every new romantic development. Fortunately it's not difficult to take these baby steps within a relationship, although it may require some personal preparation first.

Instructions

1. Resist offering immediate affection. It can be incredibly difficult to move a relationship forward gradually if you rush into telling the other person that you love him or you regularly show a level of affection associated with a more advanced relationship. While this will depend on what you feel comfortable with, you should allow yourself to hold back slightly and only become more affectionate when you feel completely at ease doing so.

2. Stay busy with activities away from your partner. If you don't have many other activities in your life except from your relationship, it can make it difficult to avoid rushing into premature commitments with your partner, as she will be receiving most of your thoughts and attention.

3. Keep your friends close. This will prevent you from overly depending on your partner for social contact and make it easier to retain independence from the relationship.

4. Communicate your feelings. If you want your relationship to move in baby steps, you should let your partner know this -- otherwise, he may feel hurt of offended by your apparent lack of interest.

5. Avoid overanalyzing the situation. Sometimes we take baby steps within relationships because we try too hard to look into the future or we're still upset about a bad relationship from our past. Although it can be healthy to choose a comfortable pace for your relationship, you should always consider whether there's an underlying issue which is making you feel anxious.

References

• Gal Time: 5 Ways to Take It Slow In Your Relationship
• Dummies: Pacing a New Romantic Relationship