Finding a great relationship is not about seeking out a soulmate, but rather creating one through communication and understanding. What is the definition of a great relationship? It is understanding how to respect, trust, befriend, romance, communicate with, and spend time with your partner.
1. Respect
It is next to impossible to feel compatible with someone who does not respect you. When there is mutual respect in a relationship, there is a sense of having similar values and goals. Men feel the greatest connection with a partner who makes them feel good about being themselves.
2. Trust, Honesty, and Humility
Couples feel most compatible when trust, honesty, and humility are part of a relationship’s equation. Trust is another word for faith and loyalty. It means keeping your promises, and holding your man’s secrets dear. Honesty, refers not only to expressing your feelings truthfully, but explaining your disappointments with caution and warmth. Research suggests that by sharing your criticisms with a mixture of praise, you are effectively expressing trust, encouraging intimacy, and planting the seed for future forgiveness.
3. Friendship
A great relationship relies on your ability to maintain friendship. This means that you make an effort to be there for your guy whenever he is in need. This can be as simple as turning off the television if he asks for your opinion, or taking him on a weekend excursion when you sense a buildup of tension. This is no magical connection that only soulmates share, but rather an unspoken vow of your unlimited support.
4. Romance
A great relationship is being both receptive and responsive to your partner’s needs. Close intimate contact provides the recognition of scent, taste, and touch. Interests and goals may come and go, but our chemical compatibility should always remain fundamentally the same. Rekindling feelings of compatibility can be as simple as engaging in kissing, cuddling, or just holding hands.
5. Communication
Happy couples listen to each other, compromise during arguments, and say they’re sorry when their wrong. This has little to do with compatibility, and everything to do with communicating and understanding each other. People are constantly changing, which is why if you don’t take the time to keep in touch with your partner’s changing goals and interests, you may feel like you’re losing touch with them. People don’t necessarily grow apart, but rather allow themselves to lose interest in the rediscovery of each other.
6. Quality Time
A great relationship is a result of getting to know each other. It should come as no surprise that spending together should be the most important of all. Happy couples prioritize their time together, seeking common ground from which to share interests. If you no longer feel like you have common interest, find something fun to do. In the beginning, this may take some compromise, but soon you’ll rediscover what it means to enjoy each other’s company.
If you’re afraid that your partner won’t reciprocate any of these actions, keep in mind that relationship studies suggest giving most almost always precedes getting!