A ‘healthy relationship’ or ‘ good relationship’ can mean different things to different people. However, in order to have healthy relationships, adults agree that it must involve two people who respect each other, communicate openly, understand each other, and value each others company. Most people would also expect their relationship with their partner to include love, intimacy, sexual expression, and commitment but all of this requires work and time.
7 Tips to help maintain a healthy relationship
- Keeping friendships – It’s easy to forget about the people around you when the person most activities you do involve the person you’re in a relationship with. It’s easy to stay in and watch movies instead of making an effort to go out. Make time for your friends
- Make Plans – Keep the relationship fun and exciting by planning day trips, trying new restaurants, signing up for cooking classes. Find activities that you both like and it could be a good idea to have a joint calendar where you both can keep track of plans and avoid miscommunication which often is a cause to arguments.
- Practice active listening – Active listening is most commonly used as a practice in therapy. It is practiced to improve overall communication. While listening comes naturally for human beings, effective listening does not. Active listening requires concentration and in today’s world, concentrating on one thing at a time is becoming less appealing to people with evolving technology of smartphones, interactive films, immediate access to unlimited information.
- Silence is okay – While we agree that communication is key to a good and relationship, learning how to embrace silence is equally important. We set expectations for ourselves and our partners and if those expectations are not filled we come up with reasons to initiate conversation when conversation is not necessary. Learn to be comfortable with silence as a great deal is communicated with silence moments. Silence is a beneficial time to collect thoughts, come up with new ideas, or simply for relaxation purposes.
- Patience – This is easier said than done. Patience is a quality that takes work and the amount of patience depends on the situation.
- Validation – Find the time or reason to validate your partner. Don’t let your person act out in hopes of getting validation from you. Give without having them to ask for it. It’s nice knowing someone else notices and appreciates the small things that you do.
- Show you care, physically – As relationships grow, affection may facilitate avoidance of physical touch. It’s easy to become comfortable and forget that the other person has physical needs. Show the person you care not only by being respectful, loyal, and sincere but remember that relationships are formed and maintained by physical contact.
Unrealistic expectations are the foundation for unhappy and toxic relationships, so leaving space for mistakes and imperfections is crucial to a successful and honest relationship. The path to a good relationship is never easy, it takes work and dedication and while we have provided you with 7 very important tips to a healthy relationship, relationships are more than tips and advice.