On Ridiculously Enjoy Life we often talk about many great ways to reach inner success, but we haven’t really talked about what it takes to have a healthy and happy relationship with a love interest. We are now going to get into relationship values to cherish. This is such an important post and I hope each of you are able to take a bunch of goodness from it.
This post is inspired by my real-life ride-or-die relationship. My “Life Partner,” is considered my girlfriend from society’s point of view but she is far more superior than that. It doesn’t feel right to call her my girlfriend. I usually introduce her as my girl! Our relationship is based on this list below and I am thrilled to share it with you guys.
Please understand that to have a true and genuine relationship there will be ups and downs and all-around, and it takes work. Daily work. You don’t just get to hit the easy button and expect to have a perfect partner. Sorry, that’s just not realistic. Both people need to want to fight for each other to make the magic happen.
I have compiled a list below that I think is super important to know, understand, and implement into a healthy and long-lasting relationship.
22 Relationship Values to Cherish 1-11
- Honesty. We need to speak with sincerity. Sometimes it’s tough to be completely honest because we don’t want to hurt the other’s feelings. “The cherry pie was ok.” That is being truthful. It’s ok. It’s not bad and it’s not great. This is the gray area that should be acceptable. 😉
- Intimacy. It’s the feeling of connection and closeness of a relationship. To me, it means all the chemical ingredients of goodness with your partner. Lust, adoration, and love. Get some!
- Family. This is a beautiful core value for me. The evolution of family even if it is blended. And in most cases when it’s blended it can be better.
- Emotional connection. If you are not on the same emotional level it can be really tough to understand the other. You should share good and healthy emotions and this will help you get through the sad and troublesome ones. Think about this, it really is key to a healthy relationship.
- Humor. You have to be able to laugh at yourself and your partner in any and all circumstances otherwise what’s the point? Be inappropriate, be fun, and have a zest for life. Even in the bedroom. Wink, wink!
- Trust. Honesty and trust are not the same. Honesty involves being genuine and having integrity and trust is about being reliable and dependable. Hope this makes sense. I trust my partner with my life and my children’s life. She will always do the right thing. Another very important value.
- Communication. I could go on and on about this one but I don’t want you to nod off. Being able to have open and healthy verbal and non-verbal communication is where it’s at. You speak, I speak and then we speak. It’s ok to make mistakes but we need to be open to discussing them with our partner. We may have misunderstood. Give each other the space to reflect and discuss.
- Respect. If you don’t respect your partner then there is no partnership, period. I don’t care what anyone says, if there is no respect for the other there is absolutely no way for it to be healthy. Treasure your partner and respect them with everything you have. Never use foul language against your partner even joking, because if there is a dispute you may end up using it against them and that’s not good.
- Loyalty. You have to be there for someone regardless of highs or lows. You have to remain by their side regardless of circumstances. You can’t just leave when the going gets tough. This is a staple in my opinion.
- Appreciation. The daily kudos and acknowledgment of how much they mean to you. Valuing and recognizing people for their actions, presence, and all the other goodness that isn’t spoken.
- Compassion. Sympathy and caring go a long way to ease the suffering of others. This is also a beautiful value to cherish. Our emotional response when things happen can be very soothing and nurturing. Feeling compassion also in social situations are motivators to help those in need.
continued in part 2
