Relationships, even casual dating, are complicated at the best of times. It’s two people with different ideas on some topics trying to come together and coexist. There’s bound to be some confusion and conflicts at some point. Knowing how to handle these differences and still create a healthy relationship is an art that a lot of people have yet to master. Let’s talk about how you can achieve this.

Communicate

I guess you’re tired of hearing this one, right? There’s a reason why you keep hearing it. No long-term relationship can last without both partners communicating their needs, wants, and expectations with each other. A healthy relationship cannot operate on assumptions, so there is a need to be transparent about how you feel and what you need. If your partner communicates way less or way more than you, then find a balance and meet each other halfway, so both of you can be comfortable in the relationship.

Pay Attention to Your Partner’s Love Languages

Love your partner the way they want to be loved, not the way you want to love them. Let’s elaborate on it. If you know your partner loves compliments, give compliments. It takes nothing away from you and makes your partner happy. Now, imagine if both of you did it for each other? If your partner’s love language is something you can’t do, please communicate that. Maybe, they love receiving gifts, but you can’t afford to spoil them rotten at the moment. Tell them, so there’s no confusion about the reasons why you aren’t doing it. If you’re not comfortable doing something for them, communicate and try to find common ground.

Make Sure You Have a Similar Understanding of What Cheating Is

For a lot of people, cheating isn’t so black and white. There are a lot of grey areas in between that may need to be addressed. Is flirting with someone else cheating? Do you have an open relationship that allows you to have casual sex with other people? Is casually kissing somebody else okay? Your partner might think flirting with the lady at work is harmless, but you might not like it. Be clear about what you’re comfortable with at the start of the relationship. Your partner needs to know what they are getting into from the beginning and decide whether they are comfortable with it. It will save you a lot of problems and confusion later on.

Build Trust with Each Other for Healthy Relationship

Building trust involves a lot of consistency, transparency, and honesty. Your behavior will determine how much your partner trusts you unless they already have difficulties trusting people because of past experiences. If your partner is insecure and finds it difficult to trust because of something in their past, help them seek professional help on dealing with those insecurities.

Try to reassure them with both your words and your behavior. After all, actions speak louder than words. Don’t do things that might break your partner’s trust. Avoid cheating, lying about your whereabouts, being unnecessarily secretive, and all that.

“Fight Smart” in Healthy Relationship

Fights in a relationship are inevitable. You’ll disagree about something at some point, or your partner will do something, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to hurt you. It’s essential to know how to handle these fights to prevent them from escalating and becoming something completely ugly. You might get tempted to throw in a few swear words and insults during an argument, but don’t do it. Resist that temptation.

You might also be tempted to use something they told you in the past to hurt them and make them feel as much pain as you are feeling. Do not do it! It will worsen the problem and make your partner mistrust you. Good luck getting them to open up again after using their past trauma as a weapon.

Listen and try to understand their point of view, and they should also do the same, talk to find a solution, not win the fight. Don’t let the issue drag on for too long, and apologize when you need to. Be respectful and gentle even during a fight. Yes, it’s hard, I know, but try it, and you’ll see how much your relationship improves.

Don’t Take Your Partner for Granted

It’s so easy to get comfortable and stop trying when you see how much your partner loves you and would do almost anything for you. You get lulled into this false sense of security where you think their world revolves around you, and you can treat them whichever way you want because they will never leave.

The truth is you don’t know what they will do, and wouldn’t it be sad to realize later that you lost something good? If you are in a long-term relationship, put in the same amount of effort you used to put in at the start of the relationship, and you will not find yourself running to get to therapy when it’s already too late. Compliment them the way you used to, make love to them the way you used to, and be attentive. Love should grow with time, not diminish. Keep your partner smiling and let them know they are appreciated, even in small ways.

Keep Things Hot and Steamy in Healthy Relationship

If you are adventurous and love experimenting when it comes to sex, keep doing it. Don’t let the relationship become bland and boring with time. Try out new things with your partner and let them freak you out. Keep doing the things that made you fall in love, the things that got you attracted to each other initially. Wear a casual date outfit and take your partner somewhere fun to reignite the spark and keep the fire burning. Make out in the car, go dancing, go hiking, take your partner for a romantic dinner. Do all this and more to keep your relationship running smoothly.

Winding Up

Don’t have someone to try all this? Do you want a healthy relationship with someone who has similar values as you but struggling to find one? Don’t worry, simply sign up for our free online dating services Wickedlist and pick what suits your needs wherever you are in the US: from casual dating to long-term relationships!