I think we can all agree that beginnings of relationship are almost magical. We are craving each other and looking forward to spending every single minute together—the beauty of the honeymoon phase.

But what happens once it’s over?

How do you know if your relationship is still worth fighting for? How do you know that what you have is the real deal, not just some convenience that threatens to fade away into nothing?

Well, first of all you need to stand aside and look at yourself, look at him and look at you two as a couple. Are you looking miserable or you’re genuinely happy? And I don’t mean every-single-moment-of-a-day happy. I’m thinking about that overall happiness. The one that finds a way to come back after the rough times, the one that’s always kind of there as long as you two are together.

If you have that kind of happiness, you’re already halfway there. The rest of the road is these five signs:

1. When you see yourself being happy in the future, he’s next to you

As much as this sounds like a cliché, this is the most adorable and surefire sign that your relationship is worth fighting for. If you can’t see him by your side when you’re thinking about the future, he’s not the one.

As someone who is almost annoyingly independent, I know how hard it is to see yourself next to someone and trust them that they’ll actually be there. But this is one rule I always follow, because in the end, it turns out that they weren’t the one after all. I do believe in love, but not when you’re surrounded with wrong people who don’t make you happy.

2. You still feel butterflies when he does something cute

No matter how much time has passed, there are still chills and butterflies. You know, when he remembers something you said a long time ago and you can literally feel the warmth washing you over and threatening to burn you inside out. When he takes a stand for you and you can feel tears forming in corners of your eyes and you know those are happy tears. When he hugs you and you feel like you can drown in his embrace for all eternity. That’s worth fighting for. That’s love right there.

3. Compromises come easily to both of you

The best sign that a relationship is healthy is the way you compromise. If there’s no holding grudges when you do it, it means that you truly care about each other and your relationship. It means that you two have something extraordinary, something definitely worth fighting for. And the most important thing here is that both of you compromise, both of you make sacrifices for your relationship. If you’re the only one who’s doing it, that’s nothing more than a one-sided relationship which is definitely NOT worth the fight.

4. You don’t always agree, but you find a way

The beauty of relationships and love is in all those little differences that define who we are. Of course, you need to be compatible in order to work it out, but more than once, you found yourself at complete opposite points of view. But you don’t call it quits. You don’t just give up on your relationship when you hit a bump on the road. You find a way to overcome it, whether it’s finding one solution, compromising or agreeing that you disagree, but you care more about each other than you care about the fight. Finding a way rather than giving up is a clear sign that you already know you have something worth fighting for.

5. You feel like yourself when you’re with him

You have no problem in wearing pajamas all day or rocking that red dress you know will make his jaw drop. You have no problem wearing sweats or suits because no matter how you look, no matter what you wear, you always feel like yourself. You always feel accepted and loved, no matter what. And even when you two are in fight, you know he will go out of his way to make sure you’re okay. Just because he is angry doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. And that’s what true love is all about. Being yourself with someone who is not afraid to be himself with you.