Healthy Relationships – What To Look Out For
Healthy Relationships – Remove The Rose Colored Glasses
We all want healthy relationships, with everyone, but how do we go about finding the right person so that we can have a great love relationship? Well, to tell you the truth, it might be easier to tell you what to look for and access, than what to do if you want a great happy relationship.
Of course, we want all the relationships we enter into to be healthy, not just the romantic ones. We want good relationships with friends, families, children, siblings, etc, but for the purpose of this article I’m going to concentrate on the romantic variety of relationship, although much of this advice will work for other types of relationships too.
People make a lot of mistakes on their quest for love. They overlook very obvious signs of trouble in the beginning. Its’ much easier to end a relationship when you start to see signs that the person you’re involved with isn’t really right for you, early in the relationship. The further the relationship progresses, and the deeper the feelings become, the harder it is to end things.
That’s why it’s so important to take off the blinders right from the start. Now, a word of caution, you can’t get too caught up on every little thing and set your expectations so high that you’re being unreasonable either. No one is perfect, not even you. The trick is to find someone as close to your definition of perfect as possible.
Someone who lies, especially early in the relationship when everyone is supposed to be on their best behavior, should be a deal breaker. Someone who is always a few minutes late, while annoying, might be something you will be able to overlook if everything else is wonderful.
You do have to pick and choose, just like they will have to do with you and your foibles. The point is that things that are a sign of a serious character flaw such as lying, cheating, or being abusive are not the kinds of things that should be overlooked. More often than not, these traits tend to get worse with familiarity which means the longer the two of you are together, the worse things will probably become.
So the next time that ‘great’ new guy you just met makes a ‘joke’ about how fat you’re getting you really need to stop and think. If his ‘jokes’ bother you, tell him. The way he responds will tell you all you need to know. If he sincerely apologizes for hurting your feelings and follows that apology up by not doing it anymore he was probably really just making a joke and meant no harm.
But if he turns it around on you and blames you for being ‘too sensitive’ and then continues to do it over and over again (or some variation thereof) he’s an abusive person and you should kick him to the curb before it goes any further.
There is a lot of information available on how to find and have healthy relationships, and a lot of it can be helpful. But in the end, you’ll have to rely on your own common sense and if you don’t ignore the warning signs early on you’ll greatly increase your chances of finding someone who can make you happy for the long haul.
Effective Communication In Relationships
Effective Communication In Relationships Is The Secret
I talk about communication is the key to a happy relationship all the time. Why? Because it’s true. You have probably heard it said all the time, but effective communication in relationships is the secret to make sure that your exciting relationship stays good. It’s not just about being able to talk about your problems, it is also about being able to share your hopes, dreams and goals and letting the other person know how much you care.
It never ceases to amaze me when people are on the phone with their spouse how they’ll end the conversation with a casual ‘love you too’. I’m not saying that’s bad, but I am saying that this ‘habit’ is just one example of how we think that we’re telling our partner how we feel when we’re really not.
It’s way too easy to say what you’re expected to say with no real meaning behind the words. We all do it. That is at the basis for poor communication skills in a relationship. If I asked one hundred people if they talk to their spouse as openly and candidly as they do their best friend, I’ll bet around 90 of them would say ‘no’.
That’s because many of us just hold our tongue because we don’t want to rock the boat. If things are going well you don’t want to bring up uncomfortable subjects and ruin the good mood. ..and if things are going bad you’ve got enough to deal with, without bringing up more issues. So the ‘bad’ things never get talked about.
A Little Give and Take
It’s important for the two of you to be able to talk to each other in a safe environment. Your partner has to know that if they want to talk about something that you’re not going to ‘attack’ them. Whether it’s getting mad and yelling, or trying to make them feel guilty because they hurt your feelings. It’s all an attack and it’s all very manipulative. The point is you have to be willing to listen to it all, good and bad.
Of course, the same exact thing holds true for your spouse too. It’s got to be give and take. You should both be willing to listen to the issues the other one has and you should both be able to talk about the issues you have, without being punished by getting the cold shoulder or being yelled at.
Most of this will start with each of you having enough self confidence to not take everything personally. If your spouse tries to talk to you about a problem and all you hear is “you’re not good enough” or “you’re not smart enough” or “I don’t love you” than the issue is with you, not them. Get that fixed first.
Do yourself and your partner a favor, take the time to learn the skills to effective communication in relationships. If you do, you will have overcome most peole’s biggest hurdle in life. As far as couples, this is the best relationship advice you should learn
