Love is in the air this month, and yesterday’s chocolate-filled holiday sure was a happy one for me. Since my last post was dedicated to all you single folks out there, I wanted to take the opportunity today to share some insight for my “taken” readers.

While I’m currently in a happy and healthy relationship, it hasn’t always been this way for me. I’ve had turbulent years of dating experience (as I’m sure we’ve all had) and although the journey wasn’t always easy, I appreciate each step of my past, as it has lead to me where I am today. To continue the Valentine’s celebrations, I put together a list of tips to help you have happy romantic relationships, which I have personally found true. Enjoy, and feel free to add your own into the mix!

10 Tips for Happy Relationships

1. Do your own thing. Do activities that provide you personally with joy, that do not directly involve your partner. Space is a good thing, especially when you’re each utilizing this time to do something that you love.

2. Communicate. If something is bothering you, talk about it. Holding our anger inside can easily lead to even greater feelings of frustration, resentment, and unhappiness. Also, try not to talk when you’re angry. Cool down and come back when you’re calm and collected and can have a constructive conversation (wow, that was a lot of C’s in one sentence!).

3. Don’t sweat the small stuff. This can sometimes be tricky, but remember: no one likes to be nagged. You’re not someone’s parent, you are someone’s partner. We all make little mistakes here and there, understand this. We’re humans — not superheros.

4. Appreciate the little things. Whether it’s a sweet text message, a home-cooked meal, the trash taken out, a random bouquet of “just because” flowers, let him/her know often that you’re truly grateful for them.

5. Trust each other. Without trust, a relationship is diddly-squat. Trust is very hard to repair after it has been broken, so work together to build a strong foundation of trust in the beginning.

6. Love yourself first. When you love yourself, you know the type of love you deserve and won’t settle for anything less. Also, when you’re confident in yourself, you know that your partner is lucky to have you and won’t worry as much about him/her straying.

7. Admit your mistakes and say sorry. Sometimes, you’ve gotta let go of your pride and just take the blame. It may frustrate you at first to admit that you are/were wrong, but you’ll both feel better in the long run.

8. Be silly, weird, and funny together. Let loose and be yourself. If you’re not laughing together often, it’s time for you to switch things up and try something new.

9. Appreciate their past. It’s not just or fair for you to be mad at him/her for something they did or someone they were dating in the past. Leave the past where it belongs: behind you. Appreciate every person/experience in his/her past, as they have all somehow led your lover to you.

10. Say, “I love you.” At least five times a day.

What others tips would you add to this list? Please share them in the comment section below! Have a great day and thanks for reading!

Jordan Brown

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