Successful Relationships Reading Corner
This week, we wrote about how to create peaceful relationships by balancing your differences. Most of these articles are about differences in couples’ relationships. However, the same can apply to all relationships.
How to Stay Together When You Are Different From Each Other “The strongest relationships are the ones in which both partners can be themselves. Intending to change the other person or dramatically changing yourself to fit someone else’s ideals dooms couples to failure. When two people have beliefs or habits that differ too much, it creates friction. For example, if one partner is devoutly religious and the other is an all-out atheist, it might be difficult for the couple to find common ground on the way that the universe functions. When a neat-freak has to put up with the habits of a slob, there will be arguments. Opposites may attract, but they don’t always have staying power.”
Exploring Similarities and Differences in Relationships! “Have you ever sat there and just thought about both how different you are from your partner, but also about the common ground you share? Have you wondered if the differences could break you? Do you wonder if your attraction to your partner is because of the similarities or the differences? If so; these are not uncommon questions people think about, especially as relationships are forming. These types of questions also may come up if some rocky ground has been forming in the relationship over time. While relationships can evolve and dissolve over time, today we are going to explore how relationships tend to thrive when we focus on the commonalities or lack thereof.”
How to balance responsibilities in your relationship “You look around and see each thing that needs to be done: laundry, food, errands, and you do them, because, well, they need to get done! Time passes, and slowly you start feeling more and more frustrated and angry: “Why isn’t my partner doing any of this? Why is it always me?” You begin to resent your partner for not helping more, and it’s easy to start believing they merely don’t care that these things need to be done and don’t care about your sanity.”