Strong relationships are built on trust.
This may be your daily mantra when it comes to strong, successful relationships, but there’s so much more than trust that needs to be built in order to make your dream relationship come true.
With that said, there are other tried and tested ways to make the intimate part of your life so much better in every single way. Here are 11 ways to build a strong relationship, as dictated by science and studies themselves.
1. Communicate Passionately
Did you know that at least 65% of couples divorce because of communication problems? Yes! According to a recent study by Bilow back in 2013, the most common reasons for the falling out were nagging, complaining, lack of affirmation, validation, and not listening to their partners.[1] Communication comes from the Latin word “communicare”, which means “to share”. Truly, if we want to make a relationship last a lifetime, we must communicate passionately and share all the things that need to be said to our partners.
2. Talk about the Good and the Bad Sincerely
Following up from our previous point, sincerely listening and talking about everything with our partner is crucial in building trust and confidence with one another. Don’t leave out the bad things out of the equation. Talk about it in a respectable way. This is where the part of validation kicks in, and you should validate the reality of things so that you and your partner can sort out what needs to be done to have a stronger relationship.
3. Build Trust by Opening Up to Each Other
Building trust cannot be done without sharing each other’s concerns. According to a study by the American Psychological Association, love and happiness are closely tied with feelings of faith, which in turn become the embodiment of three dimensions of trust – predictability, dependability, and faith.[2] Open up so that you can become dependable and faithful to your partner.
4. Be Honest with All your Intentions
With the notion of trust underway, you must also be honest if you are to be trusted. Playing around with the heart of your partner is a sure way towards your relationship’s pitfall. Remain truthful with everything you say and you’ll turn out fine. As they say, honesty is the best policy, even in relationships.
5. Be There for One Another All the Time
A study has shown that couples with a passionate level of relationship intimacy left a more positive evaluation on the relationship in question. [3]This can easily be translated to being always there for one another all the time. This doesn’t mean that you need to always keep tabs and cling to one another every second of your lives. It means that you should be there whenever your partner needs you at that moment.
6. Leave the Past Behind
Did you know that you should only focus on the present and future when dealing with your relationship? There’s a particular verse in a holy book wherein it says “love does not keep record of wrongs”. True enough, this should be the way it is. Although we cannot certainly forget the past, we can choose to brush it off for the betterment of our relationship towards the future.
7. Understand that Having Arguments are Normal
Both sides of the relationship are unique from one another. Your partner is different from you. It is only normal that you don’t agree on something. Arguments will come and go, but it is the way you handle arguments that does the trick. Do not let arguments get the best of your relationship. Rather, use them to make your relationship better. It’s all a matter of give and take.
8. Realize that you won’t always be Happy
This point may be rough on the edges, but you must accept that you won’t always be happy in a relationship. You’ll be having arguments left and right, and you’ll often doubt if you already did your best. However, don’t let it get the best of you. Rely on your partner’s support and everything will turn out right.
9. Appreciate Each Other’s Flaws
Again, every individual is different from each other, and they all have their own quirks and all that shenanigans. With that said, a successful relationship goes around understanding each other to the fullest extent, even to the worst side of your partner. Only then will you be truly happy with your relationship.
10. Become Best Friends
This may seem counterintuitive, but your partner, whether boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, or husband, should be your best friend. There should be no other best friends for you two other than each other. This will promote trust, easiness, and better understanding and fun times between you two.
11. Love Each Other Unconditionally
Lastly, as is with all things, love each other with all your heart without condition. This might be the hardest thing to do on this list. When loving one person, you should do so with no questions asked. You’ll know that you truly love the person if you don’t care who he or she is. You just love him or her for who he or she is. Switch to that kind of mind-set and you’ll have no chance of thinking about divorce in the near future.
Those are 11 ways to get your relationship to better shape. We hope that you got at least good tips in managing the overall condition of your relationship. Before we part ways, let me remind you that love is a choice.
Love is an action, not a feeling. When you understand that this is not temporary but rather a commitment, then you will remain strong in the face of adversaries that you’ll face.
References:
1 Bilow, R. (2013, November 18). Want Your Marriage To Last? YourTango. https://www.yourtango.com/experts/rochelle-bilow/want-your-marriage-last
2. Rempel, J., Holmes, J., &Zanna, M. (1985). Trust in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49(1), 95–112. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/1985-30794-001
3. Fletcher, G. J. O., Simpson, J. A., Thomas, G., & Giles, L. (1999). Ideals in intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(1), 72–89. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.76.1.72
