DATING ADVICE
How to be Mature in a Relationship and Make Your Love Last
There’s a reason why relationships in our youth never worked out.
Sure, some high school sweethearts managed to stay intact throughout the second half of their teenage years and the chaos of early adulthood, but they’re the exception rather than the norm.
However, even they aren’t immune to the complications of love.
They were lost when navigating arguments about differences. After all, no one taught us the basics of a healthy dialogue.
When it was their first time spending time apart, they, too, were unprepared, as we didn’t learn how to solidify trust in the relationship.
In the first week of dating, we’re all tripping, feeling, and hoping that everything will turn out for the best. Even after months or years of commitment, some aspects are still hard to master.
Love is a process that we’re not even aware of until we consciously choose to make the relationship work and stop relying on our emotions to get by. And it starts when we understand that we should move past our young and wild phase and learn how to be mature in a relationship.
If you’re still in the dark, it’s time to accept growth and integrate these three non-negotiable elements into your relationship.
However, note that it’s a trial-and-error process that takes time and hard work. Maintaining a relationship isn’t magic.
1. Practice Respect
Love presupposes respect. Many days, you won’t feel butterflies for your partner, but there shouldn’t be a day when you don’t have respect. Otherwise, your relationship will abound with criticism and doubt.
Believe in your partner, hold them in high esteem, and treat them with dignity. Respect their boundaries, interests, family, and friends. You might not see eye to eye on everything, but listen to them and trust that they’re doing what they deem best.
When you respect yourself and each other, you can nurture your relationship even more.
2. Be Affectionate
Part of learning how to be mature in a relationship is knowing how to love. It’s not all about grand gestures and big moments. Love is a daily habit that abides and deepens in the most mundane ways.
Giving a kiss before going out for work, holding hands while walking to the grocery store, and helping each other with chores — these are simple things that add up over time.
When done consistently, these help deepen your connection and assure each other of your commitment.
3. Pursue Self-Growth.
Never rely on your partner for your happiness. This advice might seem strange because a significant part of why you’re in a relationship is that they make you happy. However, your partner’s life purpose isn’t to ensure your happiness. It should be rooted in yourself.
If you expect your partner to fill your emptiness, it’ll consume them. And this is what happens in codependent and controlling relationships.
On the other hand, when you’re whole and self-secure, you bring your happiness and the richness of your personality into the relationship. Similarly, you receive what your partner offers. This healthy give-and-take allows you to grow individually and bring out the best in each other.
Love is a Work in Progress
You and your partner are a continuous work in progress, and so is your relationship.
This is why you should learn how to be mature in a relationship to make your love strong and lasting.
Be open to discovering each other and growing together. Embrace your changes through the years and ride the waves.
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