Six Habits for Building Healthy Relationships

Healthy relationships take time and effort, and even the healthiest relationships don’t completely avoid conflicts. Instead, couples have learned how to handle conflicts and are committed to growing as a couple and as individuals. Whether you are just starting off in your relationship or have been together for a number of years, practicing these six habits will aid you and your partner in maintaining a strong romantic relationship.

Make Time to Spend Together

The busyness of life often makes it difficult to spend time with your partner, but making time to connect is vital for a healthy relationship. Set aside time in your regular daily routine to connect with your partner. This can be something as simple as walking the dog together, watching your favorite show, eating a meal, or having time to talk.

Praise Your Partner

Say positive things about your partner when talking with friends, coworkers, relatives, or children. This reinforces your relationship and helps you avoid undermining your partner by complaining about them to others. Whether you are in the midst of a fight or are just joking around, refrain from name-calling, labeling, biting comments, sarcasm, and disparaging remarks both when you are alone and with others. Always treat each other with love and respect.

Flirt with Each Other

Flirting with your partner is a fun and unique way to express your love and excitement. Without flirting, relationships can become stale and boring; flirting is a playful way to tell your partner you still find them attractive. So catch your partner’s eye from across a busy room, brush up against them, gaze into their eyes while they talk, send flirty messages, and find other ways to continue frequently flirting with your partner.

Forgive Your Partner

Fighting and disagreements are a part of all relationships, but how they are handled varies. People in healthy relationships admit when they make mistakes, apologize for them, and move on. Avoid holding grudges or maintaining an emotional distance from your partner after a disagreement. Forgive your partner and move on with life; this allows you to enjoy time with your partner, even after a fight. Laughter is a wonderful way to relieve tension, and couples who often laugh together tend not to remain upset with one another.

Practice Empathy

Misunderstandings frequently occur in relationships; putting yourself in your partner’s position and working to see things from their point of view helps you overcome misunderstandings. You may realize that you are both thinking the same thing and are just expressing it differently or you may still disagree, but either way, your partner will feel heard and valued if you take the time to understand things from their perspective.

Focus on Positive Qualities

Appreciate the positive qualities your partner possesses instead of constantly complaining about their negative qualities. All couples experience problems in their relationships and have plenty of things to complain about, but people in healthy relationships don’t focus on the complaints. Instead, they focus on the positives and express gratitude and appreciation for each other.

It takes time and repetition to develop these habits, but strengthening your relationship is worth the effort. Healthy relationships don’t spring up on their own, so spend some time investing in yours to develop a stronger connection with your partner.