How to improve your relationship

Love is one of the most powerful forces in the world — it's what makes us human and connects us all. And yet, it can be difficult to maintain a healthy relationship with someone for years on end. The key is to remember that relationships are always changing, and if you want yours to last, it helps to keep working on it every day.

Use the power of listening.

Listening is a skill that can be learned, and it's one of the most powerful tools for improving your relationship. Listening shows respect, it helps you learn new things, and it allows you to understand each other more deeply.

The idea that listening means simply being quiet while someone else talks is outdated and unproductive. To listen effectively, you must actively engage: pay attention to what's being said; take in the meaning of words; observe body language (but don't rely solely on this); ask clarifying questions when needed; paraphrase what you think they're trying to say so they know you're listening; repeat key points back if necessary; reflect feelings back afterwards if appropriate (this doesn't mean agreeing with everything).

                          Make time to enjoy each other.

Being in a relationship is about spending time together. You can't be in a relationship if you don't know each other and you can't know each other unless you make time for each other.

If one of the biggest challenges for couples is making time for each other, then it's also probably one of the most important things to do if you want to improve your relationship.

Take responsibility for your own happiness.

v  You are the only one who can make yourself happy.

v  Don't expect other people to make you happy.

v  Don't expect other people to change their behavior to suit you. That is unrealistic, and it will just lead to disappointment and resentment on both sides when they don't live up to your expectations.

v  Don't expect other people to understand your feelings or meet all of your needs—that's not fair or realistic either!

Show appreciation more often.

v  Show appreciation more often

It's easy to take the people in your life for granted, but it's important to be sure that they know how much you appreciate them. Expressing gratitude will help you and the people around you feel good, so try to find ways to show your gratitude regularly. You can do this by:

v  Saying “thank you” when someone does something nice for you

v  Giving someone a hug or high-five when they need it

v  Spending time with loved ones and friends

v  Letting others know how much their presence means to you

Learn to speak each other's love language.

In order to improve your relationship, the first step is learning how to speak your partner's love language. You can do this by asking them how they feel most loved and appreciated by you. This will help them understand what actions will make them feel valued. The 5 love languages are:

v  Acts of service

v  Quality time

v  Receiving gifts (and/or physical touch)

v  Words of affirmation (verbal compliments)

If you don't know how to speak one another's language, it may be difficult for both partners to feel loved at all times. It is important that each person understand their own love language so that they can express themselves in ways that are meaningful for both parties.

Look for ways to bring joy into your partner's life every day.

You might think that it's your partner's responsibility to make you happy, but if you want a great relationship, you need to take the initiative and find ways to bring joy into their life. It can be as simple as making them laugh or giving them a hug when they're feeling down.

It's important that you don't become dependent on your partner for happiness; rather, strive for mutual happiness in which each person brings something special and unique into the relationship. If we only rely on our partners for our happiness, then we are placing an unfair burden on them which is not healthy or sustainable over time.

Find a balance between closeness and independence.

There's a delicate balance to be struck between closeness and independence. Too much closeness can lead to codependency, while too much space can leave you lonely and feeling misunderstood. You want your partner to know that it's okay for them to do their own thing sometimes, but also want them to understand how important it is for you both that you spend time together regularly as well. Finding this balance takes time and patience—and maybe even some trial and error—but once you find it, it'll make your relationship stronger than ever. So how do you go about finding that perfect balance?

In order to establish this equilibrium where both partners are getting what they need out of the relationship without compromising who they are or what they want from life in general (whether the other person knows about those wants or not), here's what I recommend:

Invest in your relationship by making it a priority.

You can improve your relationship by making it a priority.

v  Make time for your partner. Don’t let other things get in the way of your relationship. If you want to build a better bond with your partner, make sure you don’t let other things get in the way of it.

v  Focus on the things that make you happy. Although there are many things that can be challenging about relationships, focus on what makes them worth investing in and working toward: happiness!

v  Make sure you are putting your relationship first - not just because it's what "they" tell us to do or because it's good for us (although those things may be true), but because we truly want our relationships to thrive as best they can without this ever becoming an afterthought that gets pushed aside every day by something else (like getting into bed each night).

Don't expect perfection from yourself or your partner — no one is perfect, and no relationship is perfect either.

We all make mistakes, and we all have issues we need to work on. However, if you think that you should be perfect and your partner should also be perfect, then this is not going to help your relationship. You can't expect yourself or your partner to be perfect — no one can be! This is what sets many people up for disappointment; they expect their partners to act a certain way, but when they don't live up to those expectations the person gets angry because they are "being unreasonable."

Communicate with the people around you and tell them your hopes and dreams, too!

Take a moment and imagine the people who are around you. Are they the kind of people that you can share your hopes and dreams with? Or are they more like strangers, who just happen to be on the same bus or in an elevator together? If it's the latter, then don't worry! You're not alone in feeling this way.

A lot of us struggle with sharing our hopes and dreams—our deepest wishes for ourselves—with those around us. We think that nobody cares about what we want from life because no one has asked us about them before, or we've never had anyone ask what our biggest dreams were before asking something else about ourselves. But if there's anything I've learned from working as a counselor is that it's important for all of us to talk about our goals in life: whether those goals involve getting good grades or starting a business or raising kids someday, there's always room for improvement when it comes to communicating openly with others about them!

Conclusion

If you're looking to improve your relationship, now you know some easy ways to go about it. The most important thing is to remember that relationships are a two-way street and take time out of every day for your partner. You should also try to spend less time on social media platforms and more time actually talking with people!