Our life is a messy suitcase filled with too many clothes, accessories, perfumes, and shoes which we don’t really need for our trip.
A relationship with our partner is our destination.
Let’s say the Bahamas.
A relationship, just like a trip to the Bahamas has many stages.
There’s the honeymoon stage — the first form of excitement as soon as you buy the tickets.
Then there’s the stage of doubt — this is when there’s a lot of conflict with your partner trying to figure out what to do — if you should book a hotel or an Airbnb, what‘s your budget, etc.
Afterward, there’s the struggling stage — the feeling of panic after you’ve dealt with every issue where you realize that there’s shit you need to do to prepare for the trip.
Later, there’s the repair stage— this is when you’ve booked everything and the countdown before your trip starts.
And lastly, there’s the stage of love — this is the part of getting to the airport ready to pass the TSA and hop on the plane to your dream destination.
If you’ve gotten through all of these stages successfully, most likely the next step is marriage.
As Benjamin Sledge has said in his amazing article here not everyone is ready for marriage and in my opinion, it’s because they haven’t packed light.
One of the main issues newly married couples face is the issue of magnification.
Let’s translate this as the issue of baggage fees.
If you don’t pack light before you travel, you’ll receive a hefty fee.
Before traveling we always overestimate the weight of our baggage.
That’s why we need to remove some unwanted clothes and understand that twelve pairs of socks don’t make a lot of sense for a seven-day trip to the Bahamas.
This way, it’ll be easier to board the plane, avoid any problems with TSA and the airlines, and arrive with extra space in our luggage, because who knows… maybe we’ll find something new to buy during our trip.
A relationship should be the same way.
Before entering a long-term relationship, or even marriage, you should prepare yourself.
Don’t bring unnecessary problems into the relationship.
It’s always smarter to fix them beforehand.
This way you’ll have more time and energy to enjoy your relationship instead of arguing over petty and unnecessary things.
Always remember to pack light.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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