February is the month we celebrate love for that special person in our lives. And if you’ve been in the same love relationship for more than one year, you are to be commended. It suggests that you have learned some very significant principles of love.
Love that lasts indicates that you are a person who is willing to forgive. When we fall in love, we tend to think this is the perfect person. Then, they say or do things we don’t like. At that point, we have a choice: forgive or resent. Resentment tends to build up over time like a volcano. As the pressure builds, we become more and more uncomfortable and resentful. When it explodes, which it will, the damage may be beyond repair. The outcome is that the relationship suffers and often dies.
The better choice is to communicate your difference of opinion on the matter. There are three rules to follow: make it timely, honest, and respectful. Recognize that your partner may not change their opinion, but they now have an understanding of yours. If the relationship is built on mutual respect, both partners will allow for the life principle, agree to disagree. And, partners don’t keep score of how many times they’ve been the one to forgive.
For those couples who are celebrating between one and seventy years together, they have also learned these valuable relationship principles:
• Build the relationship on compromise – no one always gets their way
• Develop a financial plan that is reasonable for both partners
• Support each other in tough times – life can be complicated
• Set short and long term goals together
• Enjoy things as a couple and as individuals
• Determine to keep romance alive – intimacy generally changes with time
• Show appreciation and gratitude often
Not every happy relationship looks the same. Don’t compare yours to friends or family. Feel secure in the unique principles of love that have made your relationship work well. Now, that’s a reason to celebrate!
