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Successful relationship management requires a range of skills. Like other skills, these need to be updated to reflect changing circumstances and situations. Here are our suggestions for keeping your relationship strong. |
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Autonomy.
Give your partner freedom and support to achieve his/her
own goals in life and respect his/her need for privacy at times. |
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Control.
Approach the relationship as partnership of equals rather
than
an arrangement where one person
tries to control the other or change their personality. |
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Commitment.
Set high standards
for the relationship and strive to make the partnership a success.
Allow yourself to be influenced by your partner. |
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Relatedness.
Spend time with your partner and learn to recognize and understand
their feelings and emotions. Be prepared to adapt and change as your
partner does. |
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Responsibilities. Discuss and agree roles and responsibilities
for a genuine partnership and deliver on your side of the agreement. |
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Communication. Talk to your partner, say nice things
about him/her, express your aspirations, feelings and emotions and
encourage your partner to do the same. |
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Agreements.
Discuss things with your partner before making decisions, be
prepared to compromise and accept that
it is
okay to disagree. |
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Conflict
Resolution. Learn to recognize and manage
conflict in order to prevent minor disagreements escalating into
rows. Be prepared to back off, change the topic, use humor and take
cooling-off breaks. |
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Attraction. Say nice things to your partner to boost
his/her confidence and make him/her feel good about himself/herself. |
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Affection. Show affection by being thoughtful and considerate
and displaying non-verbal signs of affection. |
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Romance. Tell your partner regularly that you love
him/her and remember and celebrate important dates like birthdays
and anniversaries. |
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Sex. Discuss each other's
sexual preferences and desires, seek help for any sexual problems. |
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