You don’t need to be perfect together. You just need to be happy together.
This is undeniable. However, how do you achieve relationship happiness? Now let’s be clear. This does not mean you won’t go through trials and tests and ups and downs in your union.
It does mean that there will be so much harmony in your connection that it will even make difficult times easier to navigate.
As I do with clients, we won’t try to eat the whole meal in one bit, but we will deal with it in small pieces. For today, I will give you 5 things you should do to have a happy relationship.
Keep your commitments. It doesn’t matter whether you promised to take out the trash, pick up the dry cleaning, or be home by 7:00. Do it. Part of establishing and maintaining a happy and cohesive relationship is building trust.
The only way to do that is to make sure that your words and actions are in concert. Therefore, it doesn’t matter what it is, when you say you’re going to do “Such and such,” do such and such.
Unless there is an unforeseen event that prevents you from accomplishing what you set out to accomplish.
Leave the past alone. Bringing up mistakes from the past only reopens old wounds. Leave the past in the past. This is part of true forgiveness. When you truly forgive your partner for a wrong he or she has done, that wrong doesn’t come up anymore. Even during times of anger and arguments.
Avoid interrupting your partner. Take a deep breath and listen until your partner is finished. You’ll get your turn soon enough. Unfortunately, many couples are not good at this because they are only listening to respond and not understanding.
In light of that, they constantly interrupt their partner while they’re speaking. Don’t fall into this habit. In order to be happy with one another, both of you need to know you are being heard and understood.
Be grateful. You don’t have to do this, but I suggest you keep a diary and list at least one thing about your partner that makes you feel grateful.
It might be his or her smile or the fact that he or she makes you laugh. The simple act of looking for positive traits in your partner fills your attitude with gratitude.
Do something fun together. As often as possible, spend time together doing something that you both enjoy. Sharing good times is a great way to become closer. Sit down together and make a list of activities you both love to do. Then, find the time to do them together.
These are the first 5. Stay tuned… 5 more are on the way.
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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
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