How to Make a Relationship Work

Communicate about anything and everything. Share your deepest thoughts, needs, wishes, hopes, and dreams. Know each other inside and out. Have deep and meaningful conversations once in a while. Discuss what's going on in your lives right now, whether social life, school life, or family life, and learn about each other’s pasts and childhoods. Celebrate accomplishments, encourage goals and ambitions, and explore each other’s values and beliefs.

Support each other. Be there through the joy, good, happy, sad, and bad times—no matter what. Be willing to provide hugs, kisses, and emotional comfort in all circumstances. If your partner resists your attempts to comfort them and declines to talk about it, you should ease off of the subject and wait until they seem to be in a better mood before returning to it. Feel like you can count on each other; be reliable and loyal, and be emotionally available when you need each other most.

Be honest with each other. A truly emotionally intimate relationship requires open and honest communication. Way of keeping secrets from your partner creates a barrier between you that limits your mutual emotional trust. Honesty can be scary, but if you want your relationship to thrive, then you both need to become comfortable discussing your feelings, insecurities, and frustrations.

Spend time together. Stay together as a couple is very important. Spend time talking with each other and going out on dates, and doing other relationship-building activities. Really get to know each other and build a connection between you that's strong and enduring.

Trust on all levels is Important. Try hard to understand and respect your differences. Share and clarify your differing perspectives, and try to empathize with each others point of view. Pressuring your partner to do something that they really don't want to do, or neglecting or abusing them (whether emotionally, verbally, physically, or sexually) undermines your ability to trust and rely on one another. You must keep your word and follow through to the fullest. You must realize that fulfilling simple, basic commitments and expectations every day lays the foundation of trust that extends to more challenging situations. You should be able to trust each other in everything, keeping private your partner's innermost secrets, fears, and struggles. When you say you'll do something it must be done.

Spend time apart. Do your own things separately once in a while. Spend time with friends and family, and by yourself pursuing hobbies and other things. Just ensure that no other relationship or pursuit crowds out your partner from being your first priority.

Be independent and keep your sense of self, never losing yourself or your voice in the relationship.

Settle disputes peacefully. Pardon, Apologize, Care, and make up with each other. Talk through disagreements as long or as many times as it takes until the issue is resolved and both of you feel comfortable moving forward.

If you threaten to break up with each other after every fight or argument, you will never really resolve anything.

Keep most things private between you. When your partner shares with you and confides in you (emotionally and physically),especially when they share something about another person; resist the urge to disclose sensitive details to anyone without permission. A relationship is between two people—you and your spouse, not anyone else. Don't involve others in intimate matters, however close you may feel to them.

 

Make maintain your relationship. Work on it. Work hard at keeping it positive, happy, healthy, and the very best it can be. Do what you can do to improve your relationship or make it healthier.