By Ravid Yosef for YourTango
“He/She makes me a better person” is no longer just a cliché people in happy relationships use. According to science, your partner’s ability to make you better (or worse) is what makes the difference between not only a successful relationship, but a long term positive sense of self as well. This makes the case for finding that person who makes you better all the more important.
The study suggests that our romantic partners are capable of modifying our sense of who we are as individuals in four different ways:
1. Gaining positive attributes can simply happen by picking up a partner’s positive habits and their sense of self. Great examples are when your partner is an optimist, you begin to exercise more, or you’re generally happier because of the positive experiences you are sharing together.
3. Losing positive aspects of your sense of self may happen if you sacrificed important hobbies, or neglected valued friendships or lost a part of your identity because of your relationship.
4. Decreasing negative aspects of your sense of self can be facilitated by a romantic partner who helps you kick bad or negative thoughts and habits such as smoking, a lack of self-confidence, or even the feeling of loneliness.
The impact your relationship has on your self-concept will in turn affect how you feel about your relationship. As we can assume, relationships high in gaining of positive attributes and decreasing negative aspects can create greater satisfaction and commitment, more passionate and compassionate love, and are less prone to infidelity.
The negative implication your relationship has on your sense of self is not only detrimental to your relationship but also harmful to you in ways you may not even be aware of.
Consider that the gain of negative habits, thoughts and emotions along with a loss of your own identity can take years to fix and begin to look for the warning signs in your relationship.
- Have I lost confidence in myself since my relationship began?
- Have I picked up habits that can hurt my long-term physical and emotional health due to my relationship?
- Have I lost friends I consider to be important to me because my partner doesn’t like them?
- Do I notice (and now believe) negative thoughts about myself that I didn’t believe to be true before my relationship?
If you answer, “Yes” to many of these questions, it’s time to re-evaluate your relationship.
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