Top 10 Qualities That Make Up a Happy & Healthy Relationship

Romantic relationships are essential for our well-being and happiness. If you happen to be searching for a partner or are presently in a relationship, it would be helpful to know the qualities that make up a healthy relationship.

This can help you determine if what you share with your partner is worthwhile and can contribute positively to your life.

Relationships are essential for us to live our lives to the fullest. Sharing our lives with someone we love is perhaps one of the greatest rewards in life. That’s why we should all strive to learn how to establish good and healthy relationships that can stand the test of time.

We can all agree that strong relationships not only help us satisfy our human needs but also make our life happier and more fulfilling.

One way to build a strong foundation for your relationship is by developing the qualities that make up a healthy one. It is already common knowledge that trust, honesty, and respect are the basic foundations of a healthy and solid relationship.

Without these factors, everything can simply fall apart. Assuming that you’ve recognized these factors already, what comes next? To guide you through, we’re aiming to reveal the ones that go beyond these three important factors.

1. Honest Communication

The strength of a relationship is based on how effective and honest communication is. Without honest communication, a relationship cannot survive or even exist – certainly not in a way it’s supposed to be.

It should be noted out that happy and healthy relationships are an outcome of honest and open communication between couples.

When going through a difficult stage in a relationship, we need a gentle boost and support; and there’s no other person who can provide this then that person you love which is your partner.

Talking about your issues can help establish trust and respect, and it can strengthen your bond. Best of all, it’s the best way to find solutions to your problems which you might not be able to think of if you’re carrying the burden all by yourself.

Lack of communication can give rise to many unwanted problems in a relationship.

Having open and honest communication can resolve even the toughest problems between partners; and when you and your partner are able to communicate well and openly, you’ll find it easier to understand and respect each other. And this can lead to a life of happiness and contentment together.

2. Time Together

It’s important for couples to devote some time exclusively for each other. Spending quality time together, free from distractions, work matters and phone chats is essential to strengthening the bond.

This is also the perfect way to focus more on the relationship and to simply enjoy each others’ company. Engaging in various activities together, watching movies and having dinner, traveling and doing some projects at home are all excellent ways to spend quality time together.

We have to be aware that how we prioritize our time can affect our relationship. Amidst our hectic schedules, we sometimes get accustomed to instant gratification that we forget how important it is to spend quality time with our loved ones.

Sometimes, we even get too caught up trying to perfect our lives that we easily lose sight of being physically present in the most important aspects of our daily lives – that includes time with our partner.

Time is essential in establishing a solid foundation in a relationship and in keeping the partnership strong. This is something that we must not forget no matter how busy things get.

3. Sexual Compatibility

Compatibility is important in all aspects including sex. This is because sexuality and intimacy are both important in every romantic relationship.

This implies that every couple should have excellent sexual chemistry both in and out of bed to start with. To establish this, it is important to have an honest discussion about your sexual expectations with your partner.

Each person has unique characteristics particularly when it comes to sex. You may have your own sets of desires, fantasies, kinks and expectations. The same goes with your partner.

Finding an effective means for both of you to satisfy these can do wonders for your relationship. You must always remember that sex and intimacy are vital elements of any romantic relationship.

The longer you can keep the fire burning between you and your partner, the healthier your relationship is bound to be.

4. Confidence in Your Relationship

You and your partner must be aware of the different aspects of your relationship – how much time you’re supposed to spend with your friends, your personal boundaries and your work schedule. Being honest about each others’ intentions in your relationship can help you establish confidence in each other.

This means that you and your partner don’t have to worry about the other cheating or spending more time than necessary doing personal stuff. Confidence in your relationship means having peace of mind regardless of the circumstances because you have trust and faith in your partner.

5. Personal Space

Being in a relationship doesn’t mean that you have to give up your individuality. In fact, couples must encourage each other to pursue individual passions, hobbies and interests.

Giving each other personal space means allowing each other to grow and develop as better individuals. It would be selfish to impose limitations on your partner just to keep him/her for yourself or to own much of his/her time.

Allowing your partner to have personal space will keep things interesting and exciting between the two of you and can contribute to happiness in your relationship.

6. Respect for Each Other’s Family and Friends

It’s important to recognize the people that play an important role in your partner’s life. Respecting them and accepting them into your life is just as important as loving your partner wholeheartedly and unconditionally.

If we ignore the ways in which our partners’ family has shaped their lives, then we are missing out on a crucial opportunity for personal and emotional growth. Furthermore, we might also risk having unhelpful patterns in our own relationships and families.

Acknowledging his circle of friends is just as important. Getting along with them is one thing and respecting their friendship is another. So whether we understand the important people in our partner’s life or not, we have to learn how to respect them the best way we can.

7. Acceptance of Each Other’s Flaws and Weaknesses

One important quality of a healthy relationship is genuinely accepting your partner despite his imperfections, flaws, and weaknesses. Couples who fail to recognize this are often too busy looking for perfection in their partners.

They live in an illusion that they have the perfect partner without even realizing that they might already be causing pressure in the relationship.

As partners, you have to respect each other’s flaws and weaknesses. Don’t force your partner to change but rather guide him to become better. It’s not fair to force him to change how he lives his life.

Instead, be supportive and accept the fact that we are all unique individuals following our own paths and being guided by our own beliefs. So as long as you know that your partner’s decisions and lifestyle are not hurting him, you must accept and love him for who he is.

With your patience and respect, he can develop a sense of maturity that will enable him to become a better and stronger person.

8. Support Each Other

In whatever situation, it’s important to express to your partner that you have his back. Support comes in many forms such as moral, emotional and psychological among others.

But what truly matters is that you are able to make your partner feel that you’re with him every step of the way – in achieving his dreams, ambitions and aspirations and in conquering his fears.

Being a supportive partner means that you have faith in his potential and it is a clear indicator that you want him to succeed in life.

9. Knowing When to Apologize

This thing about apologies is that everyone likes being on the receiving end. And when it’s your turn to say “I’m sorry”, that’s when things get tricky. As soon as your pride gets involved, you feel that you’re in trouble.

After all, the act of apologizing means admitting that you’re wrong and we know for a fact that, nobody wants to be wrong.

To have a healthy relationship, don’t apologize just because you know that you were wrong. Try to empathize with the pain caused by your actions and strive to make amends. Dig deep into the emotional impact you’re apologizing for.

You may uncover old wounds and trigger the pain all over again but that’s simply how it goes. It’s all part of the process. For a relationship to become healthy, both parties must know when to set aside their own pride and to start apologizing and making up for their mistakes.

10. Reciprocity

Reciprocity refers to the act of “give and take” in a relationship. It’s not all about keeping score of who is doing what or who is doing more than the other. It’s all about mutually recognizing that you are interdependent which means that each of you contributes something to make the relationship work.

Reciprocity means you and your partner both take responsibility for your relationship and you accept each other’s individual roles in it.

Conclusion

Maintaining a healthy and solid relationship doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, as long as you and your partner are willing to compromise and accept each other’s differences, you’ve already won half the battle.

The other half is overcoming the challenges and trials that would come your way. Whether a relationship would succeed or not depends only upon you and your partner; because in the end, it’s all in how much you’re willing to put in and invest in your relationship that matters.