5 Ways to Be a Better Partner in Your Relationship
No matter what, all loving and committed relationships require time, patience, effort, and let's face it — stress. Maintaining a long-term connection with someone is not always butterflies and rainbows; in fact, balancing healthy relationships can be one of the most difficult experiences we go through in life.
Relationships, as they say, are a two-way street. In order to make them work, both partners need to put forth effort. Here are 5 ways to be a better partner and to improve the quality of your relationships.
1. Show Love and Appreciation Daily
As cliché as it sounds, it truly is the little things that matter the most. Showing love and appreciation does not always mean grand gestures and profound acts of admiration. It can be as simple as gratitude — expressing how grateful you are for your partner just being with you, or thanking them for the things they do for you. Simply saying "I love you" can sometimes mean the world to someone.
Another way is by doing small acts of services, like making your partner coffee in the morning or cooking them dinner after a long day. Find effective ways to express gratitude daily and let your partner know how much you enjoy spending your life with them.
2. Open and Honest Communication
Poor communication is the downfall of the majority of relationships. It can be easy to lose one another without knowing the proper way to communicate wants and needs.
Talk to your partner about issues or problems you are feeling, no matter how difficult the conversation may be. Be honest about your feelings, and if you are unhappy and need things to change, vocalize it. No one is a mind reader, and we cannot expect our partners to know exactly what we are thinking and feeling. Set aside time to sit down and have open conversations together.
3. Learn to Apologize and Forgive
Unfortunately, we are all going to mess up and make mistakes. We are going to unintentionally hurt our partners and it is crucial to own up to mistakes and apologize. Learn to say sorry when you're wrong. Understand how to move on and be better in the future.
On the contrary, learn to forgive as well. It can be easy to dwell on mistakes and sit with the anger, but holding grudges will only cause distance in the relationship. Talk about what happened, accept their apology, and move forward together.
4. Support Their Goals and Dreams
When it comes to our life goals, we all want to feel support about the decisions we make. If your partner has a dream that they are working towards achieving, be side-by-side with them throughout their journey. Be active in their passions by helping them overcome obstacles and problem-solve. Listen to their plans and encourage them when they seem defeated.
Doing little things like helping them research or sending them information about their fields of interest is a great way to support their dreams.
5. Self-Awareness
On a more personal note, it is important to check in with yourself and understand your own needs. We are all different, especially in relationships. Recognizing your strengths and weaknesses can be helpful for your partner to know. But in order for them to be aware, you must do some reflection yourself.
In relationships, we tend to intertwine our lives with another person. Schedule out some alone time for self-reflection and assessment. Spend time with friends and family and seek their advice on how to improve behaviors.
If you and your partner feel that you are still struggling as a couple, it may be beneficial to reach out to a mental health professional. Couples counseling is a great place to work on being a better partner and improving the quality of your relationship. Reach out and schedule your first session today for couples therapy..