Love is a fickle matter; some strike the pot of gold and experience true love at first sight, others experience their many firsts but end up with another, and there are those who move from relationship to relationship, struggling to find their soulmate. Undoubtedly, everyone’s experience with love and soul-searching is vastly different, for every connection is unique, and not each one fits the description of a lifetime partner.
However, there seems to be an alarming trend of people placing impossible standards for their lovers, making happiness close to impossible, and unconsciously builds a wall around them that prevents connections. And so, to alleviate this problem, today we’ll be learning what the real main ingredients are to a healthy relationship. We’ll be picking apart what matters and understanding why it is so.
Love Is Unique And Imperfect
Firstly, we must realize that love itself is unique and imperfect. There is no cookie-cutter technique that lets you find the perfect lover because everyone’s circumstances are different, and we all have our preferences. Plus, challenges and conflict are an integral part of love because it is in times of struggle where we rekindle our bonds and remember why we’ve fallen head over heels for our partners. So, instead of building a strict checklist, there are but three main ingredients to recognize.
#1 Value Communication
Love begins at connection, and connections are built with communication. So, one of the most important aspects of a healthy and loving relationship is one that values communication. Whether through their individual actions or words, we all have our different love languages, and a good relationship understands that. A healthy and loving relationship cannot exist without communication because we can’t always expect our partners to know what we mean.
- Be Honest: A strong relationship relies on honesty; being able to confess one’s shortcomings, knowing how to express their feelings, and responding with real emotions. Whether it’s something as simple as bedroom matters or maybe overcoming a recent argument, a healthy couple should understand the value of being honest with each other.
- Show Kindness: While kindness is an important value in general, it’s also equally important to show kindness in a relationship. A partner should be gentle with their significant other’s emotions, accepts their imperfections, and is always considerate of them. Without the presence of kindness in a relationship, it can foster anger and negative emotions that prevent you from loving each other wholly.
#2 Seek Understanding
Another important trait of a healthy relationship is one that seeks understanding and finds the middle ground that lets both partners grow with each other. Whether it’s a conflict resolution or listening to each other’s anxieties, a strong bond between lovers is always founded on understanding. To be aware, sensitive, and, at times, intuitive of the situation and their emotions.
- Listen to Their Vulnerabilities: You know you’re in a beautiful and blossoming relationship if you’re able to open up about your vulnerabilities and your partner listens intently and doesn’t judge you. Understanding also means to comfort each other, so if your significant other expresses how they’d feel much happier in their own body if they got hair removal treatment, the correct response is to support, not invalidate. You cannot achieve a healthy and loving relationship if you don’t listen to their vulnerabilities because you will always feel that you haven’t been able to open up completely.
#3 Gives Each Other Space
Lastly, a telltale sign of a successful relationship is one that gives each partner their space, a relationship that doesn’t inhibit each other’s creativity, expressiveness, dreams, and passions. You want to support and be each other’s shoulder to lean on. You don’t want to trample on their goals but be the one cheering them on each step of the way. And, despite coming together, you must also respect that both of you also have a life of your own.
- Respects Your Privacy: Sure, some partners prefer being with each other all the time, but nine times out of ten, you don’t have to be your lover’s babysitter 24/7. A healthy relationship respects each partner’s privacy, and you don’t want to overstep and make every little thing about the both of you. Every person leads a unique life, and that still rings true in a relationship, so value privacy.
A Standard For Love; A Sign For Unhealthy Relationships
However, while these three main ingredients should be something you strive for in a relationship, their absence is also a symbol of an unhealthy one. So, apply these principles into your own love life, and work things through with your partner. And, whether things work out or fall out, always put your happiness as a priority.