We’ve all heard the saying, “communication is key” but not many of us truly took it on board when we heard it for the first time. But it’s a saying that holds more truth than we realise – communication can make a huge difference in our personal and romantic relationships.
Unfortunately for many of us, we grew up with parents and a society where there was not that much emphasis on the importance of communication, but learning how to do it effectively is a vital lesson to learn for anyone that values the people that they love.
The Emphasis On Empathy
A big roadblock in the way of effective communication is a lack of empathy. Empathy is a powerful emotion that isn’t instilled in many of us from an early age as it should be, but without it we can’t really communicate with other people in an effective way. Empathy is the ability to look at a situation from another person’s perspective; to understand what they might be feeling, and to sympathise with the hardships they’re going through.
Come To Terms With Emotion
It’s commonly believed among men that keeping emotion bottled up is a show of manliness; that men should never cry or talk about something that may be hurting them. Human beings, however, are emotional creatures, and we need to express that emotion to others, regardless of whether the emotions are not always pleasant. Finding the strength to truly tell someone just how you’re feeling, to express your true emotions rather than hiding them away, is a potent method of building a lasting connection with the person you love the most. Some might call it vulnerability, but for those that have built their relationships on expression their true feelings, they would call it strength.
Adopt An Honest Approach
True emotion and honesty go hand-in-hand, and we often can’t have one without the other. There are countless relationships out there that have a foundation built on mistruth or outright lies, and those are the kinds of relationships that either descent into abuse after long enough, or simply fall apart.
Honesty is important for every aspect of your relationship with your partner – you need to be able to be honest with them about almost everything if you can. Even if you make a big mistake, one that you think they might leave you over, it might be less of burden to simply sit them down and tell them what happened, and the top odds are that they might even just be so taken with your honest that they forgive you.
Give Your Partner Attention
A common problem among partners is a lack of attention, sometimes we take our loved ones for granted, and end up hurting them by being focussed on other aspects of life. Instead, realise that your partner is a being that needs just as much love and affection as you do, and make sure to take the time every so often to stop and give them your full attention.