RELATIONSHIP TIPS: Practice Give And Take.

If you expect to get what you want 100% of a
time in a relationship, you are setting yourself up
for disappointment. Healthy relationships are
built on compromise, and it takes work on each
person’s part to make sure that there is a
reasonable exchange.

Recognize what’s important to your
partner;

Knowing what is truly important to your partner
can go a long way towards building goodwill and
an atmosphere of compromise. On the flip side,
it’s also important for your partner to recognize
your wants, and for you to state them clearly.
Constantly compromising your needs for others’
will build resentment and anger.

Don’t make “winning” your goal;

If you approach your partner with the attitude
that things have to be your way or else, it will be
difficult to reach a compromise. It’s all right to
have strong convictions about something, but
your partner deserves to be heard as well. You
are more likely to get your needs met if you
respect what your partner needs, and
compromise when you can.

Learn how to respectfully resolve
conflict;

Conflict is inevitable in any relationship, but to
keep a relationship strong, both people need to
feel they’ve been heard. The goal is not to win but
to resolve the conflict with respect and love.

•Make sure you are fighting fair.
•Don’t attack someone directly; use “I”
statements to communicate how you feel.
•Don’t drag old arguments into the mix.
•Keep the focus on the issue at hand, and
respect the other person.