A relationship, after the initial phase of butterflies, becomes a journey of two people going through ups and downs to make things work. It takes a lot of effort, compromises, communication and understanding on both sides to make it work out for the long time. A relationship needs efforts from both the partners to make it a healthy and a secure space for people involved in it to grow individually and also together. The efforts and the compromise made in a relationship should be equal for both the partners. “While it is important to ask your partner what they are specifically asking for when they request that you put more effort into the relationship (as needs and partnerships vary), here is an idea of what that can look like,” wrote Psychotherapist Emily H Sanders as she shared a picture of what putting efforts in a relationship looks like.
Growth: A relationship does not mean that we stop growing individually. Sometimes being a better person makes us better for our partner. We should never stop investing in our growth.
Communicate: Things that go through our mind should be communicated with our partner and in clear words so that they understand us better as people.
Workload: Equality is a non-negotiable term in any relationship. Hence, we must learn to share the workload in the relationship and put in efforts equally.
Contribution: From opinions to finances, we must be able to contribute to plans in whichever way it demands.
Responsibility: Taking our bit of responsibility for misunderstandings or conflicts can help us choose the relationship before winning the argument.
Distractions: There will always be lots of distractions, but if we are able to spend quality time together being unfazed by the distractions, we are already winning it.
Intimacy: We should learn to initiate physical intimacy – it is a very important part of the relationship.
Compliments: Doing small gestures to make the partner feel special and complimenting them at every chance we get will help them to feel important in the relationship.
Help: Offering help to the partner and understanding their needs help in taking the relationship forward.
