Relationships are the fastest way to evolve personally, if you are prepared to remain a continuous learner. Any relationship, sooner or later, will bring up and highlight areas where you can learn more about yourself, your partner, and your ability to truly relate to who you are.
What is a long-term relationship?
To discover how we can be happy in a long-term relationship, we must first clarify the meaning of “long-term relationship.” Personally, I would consider a relationship to be long-term sometime around the time the two or three year mark passed. The reason for that period of time is that the initial honeymoon period, in which we start as a couple, lasts between 6 and 18 months, maximum, and if you are lucky, 3 years. To learn more about the different stages of relationships, check out my most popular article called ‘Stages of a Relationship’.
Stay happy
“Staying happy” means that most of the time you feel comfortable in your relationship without having to deal with a major crisis on a regular basis. Staying happy should also include a healthy attitude and acceptance of arguments with your partner. If, on the other hand, you expect that you will never get angry at your partner or that there will never be a negative feeling between you, then you are denying human reality and / or you should probably remain single.
Relationships change over time
Relationships will inevitably change over time. Initially, most couples experience a high level of passion, excitement, and loving feelings towards their partner. After the honeymoon period, and when differentiation is established, we perceive our partner with a more realistic eye, which also means that we realize that our previous ‘perfect match’ might not be so perfect after all. That is the moment when you are forced to face reality and you can choose to continue with your relationship with more true openness to what it is, accepting its change and growing with it.
Love and connection beyond the effect of hormones.
Staying happy in a long-term relationship means that you are willing to accept and work with those changes. It means that you find a love and connection deeper than that driven by hormones. Dealing with differences and agreeing to disagree with your partner are part of any long-term relationship.
Communication and openness
A long-term relationship will eventually bring out your true self and that of your partner. This can be an uncomfortable evolution as you are faced with your own parts, as well as those of your partner, less pleasant. It is then that open communication, about yourself, others and relationship, and acceptance of yourself and others become important milestones and achievements in your self-development!