Tips for Building a Healthy Relationship

All romantic relationships have ups and downs and they all take commitment, work, effort, and a willingness to adapt and change with your partner. Whether your relationship is just starting out or you’ve been together for years, there are times you don’t know what to do or feel like you’re giving up. There are steps you can take to build a healthy relationship. Even if you’ve experienced a lot of failed relationships in the past or struggled before to rekindle the fires of romance in your current relationship - maybe you can’t stop arguing, jealousy is getting in the way, or maybe the fire once in your loins is now just a smoldering pile of ash, below are some tips on how to improve your relationship:

1. COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE

The most important thing is communication. It’s the leader of every kind of relationship, whether that’s one with your boss or your babe. Effective communication is a way to advocate ourselves to our partner – no matter how well you know and love each other, you cannot read your partner’s mind. We need to communicate clearly to avoid misunderstandings that may cause confusion, anger, resentment, or hurt. Couples need to find a way of communicating that suits their relationship. Healthy communication requires practice and hard work. Communication will never be perfect all the time. Be open.

2. GIVE AND IT WILL BE GIVEN

Sometimes in a relationship, small things can make a huge difference. If you want attention from your partner, give attention. If you want affection, give affection to your partner. If you want respect, give respect. But it doesn’t mean that you give out of a motive. Don’t give when you feel like, it’s not going to happen. Perhaps some of you might feel that you always be the first one to apologize and we start to drown in our selfishness/pride, don’t let that thoughts and feelings consume you. It’s time for you to become the bigger person and start to give without expecting anything in return. If you expect to get what you want 100% of the time in a relationship, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

3. FORGIVE AND LET GO

In every relationship, there are likely to be times when our partners will do things to us that we regard as insensitive and offensive. Forgive him or her. Forgive is an act of will, not an emotion. There’s always a reason for your partner to do a certain action. Being able to forgive is one of the ways to keep yourself healthy both emotionally and physically. Once you forgive, let it go. If you hold onto old hurts, disappointments, insensitivity, and anger, you are wasting both your energy and time. Nursing your hurt for too long can eventually fuel your anger and make it turn into hate and extreme bitterness. How do you know if you have forgiven him or her? You won’t throw a mistake back in your partner's face at a later date – you don't use it as ammunition in an argument. Remember that being able to forgive your partner takes time. Be patient with yourself. Don't try to hurry the process.