Yes, love has to be the foundation of every relationship. However, it’s not the only thing that’s necessary to make a relationship work. There are several relationship rules that are essential for every healthy relationship.
No matter how much you love your significant other, if you don’t set some ground rules and if you don’t both respect those rules, your relationship is doomed and no amount of love can fix it.
It’s actually so easy to have a good relationship but the thing is that both partners have to put some effort into it, commit to it, and be willing to fight for their love no matter what.
All long-term relationships have to go through some rough patches and that’s simply inevitable. It’s a law of life.
With these healthy relationship rules, you’ll be able to maintain your strong relationship during those times, too.
Being loyal is everything
This is the most important exclusive relationship rule and the best relationship advice anyone can give you. If you want to have a long-lasting connection with someone, you HAVE to date only that one person.
You can’t say that you honestly love someone but cheat on them or still date other people. That’s not loving and that’s definitely not the path to a good relationship.
If you think that you’ve finally found the right person to spend your life with, you need to be loyal and commit fully to that relationship.
Of course, you can still have friends and meet new people but there are some boundaries you have to respect. Don’t ever do something that will make your partner doubt your loyalty.
You’ll learn that when in a committed relationship, your loved one‘s feelings are way more important than your own.
If they think that someone has different intentions than you might think and if they really aren’t okay with you hanging out with them, you should stop doing so. Why? Because you don’t want to cause them relationship anxiety.
Speak your mind because your partner can’t read it
It’s normal when in a long-term relationship to know our partner’s thoughts and the things they like. Still, that doesn’t mean we can read each other’s minds.
Don’t assume that just because you’re in a relationship for some time, you have a telepathic connection. Yes, speaking without using words is possible but that’s through non-verbal communication.
Your partner doesn’t have the ability to read your mind, no matter how well they know you and you have to remember that.
If something is bothering you, you should always know that you can open up to your loved one and talk it through.
If you want something from them but you don’t want to ask them directly, you can at least try giving them some hints.
Surprisingly or not, most fights in relationships occur exactly because one partner wants something and thinks that their partner should know it without them saying it.
This often leads to disappointment when the partner doesn’t fulfil the desire.
Those are unreasonable expectations and the only person who’ll be disappointed in the end is you. And you’ll be the only one guilty for your own disappointments.
Forget about it. Learn to communicate in a healthy way. If you think that there’s something that needs to be said in your relationship, tell it to your partner and take care of it together.
Trust and friendship will take you far
Your partner has to be your best friend. You shouldn’t hide anything from them. It’s crucial if you want to have a healthy relationship.
The thing you should know is that trust is a two-way street. You can’t trust a person until that person trusts you.
Earning your loved one‘s trust is probably the toughest thing in a relationship, but it’s totally worth it because nothing will strengthen the bond between you two as much as established trust.
If you trust your partner, you know that they have your best interests at heart and that you’re their number one priority.
It feels so good to know that someone loves you and that they will never do anything to hurt your feelings, right?
Even if your partner makes a mistake, you should know that we’re all human beings with our weaknesses and none of us can ever be sinless.
We all make mistakes and we all deserve to be forgiven and given another chance.
You can’t have a healthy relationship without good communication
There are several building blocks for every kind of relationship, whether it is a romantic one or a business one is irrelevant, and communication is the most important one.
You can’t truly love someone until you really meet them and the only way you’ll be able to do that is through communication.
You can’t have a successful relationship with someone until you get to know their opinion about life in general, and again, the only way to find that out is through conversation.
If you learn to communicate in a healthy way, you’ll also learn to deal with your issues and disagreements more effectively. That’s one of the best pieces of marriage advice out there.
As much as you need to talk about your emotions, you also need to talk about your issues. Remember, when one partner talks, the other one has to listen, actively.
And then you need to make a plan for how to solve those issues together.
There will be some bad situations, be there for each other and fight it together
Life is unpredictable and you can never know what tomorrow will bring. One thing is for sure, there will be many good and happy days, but there will also be many bad moments.
The important thing is that you have to stick together through all of it. Always keep the wedding vows that people give to their life partners on their wedding day somewhere in your mind.
To have and to hold someone for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part.
This is not a new rule for a successful and healthy relationship. This was always one of the main conditions for having that kind of relationship.
You should think of you and your partner as one soul in two different bodies. Their mood should affect yours. If they have problems, you should be worried together. If they are excited about something, you should be too.
Don’t ever let some bad moments or problems in your relationship cause you to grow apart. Remember that there is no problem that you two can’t fix together.
No matter how hard times may get, don’t ever give up on each other. Fight for your partner and fight together for your relationship.
Talk about things that happen in your bedroom behind the closed doors
Your love life should never be a forbidden topic. Your partner needs to know if you are pleased with it and if there are some things that maybe you would like to change.
Of course, keeping that spark in your bedroom alive affects your relationship positively.
Your love life is a huge part of your relationship and if you want to make your relationship better, you should also work on that aspect of it.
If you’re afraid of intimacy, you should tell your partner; don’t let them make their own conclusions.
Always try to bring some new and interesting things and ideas to your bedroom.
There are many interesting, fun, and romantic ways to heat up your love life. You just have to be a little creative and of course, ask your partner if they agree with it.
Understanding is sometimes more important than love
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Understanding is a two-way street.” And if you think about it, you’ll realize that it’s absolutely true.
You can’t have understanding and respect for another person if you feel it is not reciprocal.
You need to understand that we aren’t perfect and each and every one of us has some flaws and weaknesses. Your partner has flaws that they can’t control, too, and you need to accept and embrace it.
We are all different people with different needs. You need to get to know your partner’s needs and understand them.
You need to show your partner that they can come to you whenever they have a problem and you’ll be there for them no matter what.
Of course, you’ll have some disagreements along the way, but again, with understanding from both sides, you’ll be able to overcome it easily.
Apologizing for your mistakes doesn’t make you look weak
When you make a mistake and hurt your partner, not only do you have to apologize to them, but you have to show that you really regret it and that you’ll never do it again.
You should ask what you can do to earn their trust back or be forgiven. Once your partner realizes how sorry you are, they will certainly forgive you for your mistake.
If you think that you have definitely found your soulmate, don’t allow yourself to lose them just because you’re too proud to apologize. That’s something you’ll never be able to forgive yourself for, that’s for sure.
Making constant compromises is a must-do if you want to make your relationship work
You have to realize that you chose to share your life with another person when you started dating them.
That means that you can’t always get everything you want and that things can’t always turn out the way you want them to.
Compromising is one of those non-negotiable parts of every great and successful relationship. So, it’s not something that will just improve your relationship, it’s an essential relationship rule.
Without compromises, you’ll not be able to maintain your relationship.
Don’t try to change their point of view or things about them you don’t like. Accept those things or try to politely ask your partner to change it.
Through healthy communication, you’ll definitely find a way to compromise on those things.
Making compromises in a relationship doesn’t mean that you aren’t confident enough, it means that you’re ready to give up on some things for the sake of love.
Little things matter the most
Most people would agree that true love is actually in the little things. Don’t think that little things are just that, small and unimportant. Those “little” things are often the cause of most fights in relationships.
You’ll see how your partner will change their mood or behavior towards you the first time you forget some date that is significant to them or God forbid, their birthday.
They may not say that they’re hurt or angry, but you’ll definitely notice it by their behavior.
Surprise them with a small gift without reason, send them a text in the middle of the day just to ask them how they are, make them breakfast in bed with a little note “For my love“.
Those little things will definitely bring a smile to your loved one‘s face.
So people, tell your partners more often how much you love them and please try to remember some important dates in your relationship. It may seem little to you, but it can mean the world to your loved one.
No matter how busy you are, you have to find time in your busy schedules for a romantic date night
No matter if you’ve just started dating or you’re in a long-term relationship, you should always go on romantic dates. That will help you keep the spark alive in your relationship.
Going out on dates or just cuddling on the couch while watching a romantic movie is something that needs to be a part of your everyday life.
Plan your next holiday together, have a romantic dinner, try something new, start a new hobby… Spend some time together every day.
You will strengthen the bond between you, and that way the spark will never leave your relationship.
Learn your partner’s love language
We don’t all have the same definition of love. It’s actually different for all of us. Some of us like to express love with words and others like to show it with deeds.
You’ll see that after you get to know your partner, you’ll also learn their love language and spoiler alert, it’ll probably be different from yours.
That’s not important, trust me. The only important thing is that you love each other and that you put all in… the rest will fall into place.
However, once you get to know their love language, it’ll be easier for you to prove your love to them and to win their heart over completely.
Don’t put social media before socializing with each other
This is one of those new rules for a successful relationship, however, that doesn’t make it less important.
We all spend too much time on the Internet, sharing too much of our personal information and that’s a fact.
Now, some people would agree that it doesn’t have a negative effect on our lives and relationships but others would say otherwise.
The truth is that unfortunately, it does. We have all wanted to go through our partner’s cell phone at least once. Some of us have done it and weren’t actually happy about the things we found there.
Yes, it’s wrong and it shows that you don’t trust your partner. And yet, our curiosity is bigger than us and we do it anyway or we keep track of their activities on social media.
This is just another way that the Internet and social media can interfere with our love life.
You should set some social media boundaries in your relationship and that’ll definitely stop it from complicating your relationship.
Don’t chase trends on your social media if it’s going to harm your relationship. Those things will be trending for a short time and then they’ll pass, but your loved one is there forever.
Never forget to say ‘I love you’ to each other at the end of the day
I think that this is the only relationship rule that doesn’t require an explanation. Don’t ever go to bed angry at each other and always end your day by saying how much you love one another.
You’ll fight, you’ll disagree, you’ll get mad at each other, but at the end of the day, the only thing that should be important for both of you is that you have each other and that you love one another.
Always remember the reason you fell in love with your partner in the first place and when hard times come, try to remind yourself of that.
Having a good and healthy relationship isn’t difficult at all. You just need to respect these relationship rules and put in a little effort.
In real life, people aren’t perfect but our love and relationships can be.
Just always keep these relationship ground rules in mind and both of you will definitely be happy and pleased which will positively affect your relationship.