Falling in love and actually being in a relationship are two different things. While falling in love needs no effort, being in a relationship and remaining committed to your partner requires a great deal of mental strength and constant effort. Moreover, no relationship on earth comes with a warranty card or an expiry date. That’s why we often confuse loyalty as a novelty these days. But, if there is just one key to a successful relationship, it has to be honesty. Honesty, not when everything is going smooth, but during those moments when it isn’t.
The question remains, is it that easy to be completely honest in a relationship without the fear of being judged by the other person? Here’s what you need to know to be truthful in relationship without being hurtful.
9 Tips to Remain Honest in Relationships
1. Define your ethics and values
Honesty is the other side of integrity. In order to be honest in your relationship, you must define your values and principles first. Values about life, love, relationships, religious beliefs, finances and everything. Once, you come to terms with your values, you can communicate honestly with your partner openly.
2. Be emotionally honest
Despite how people confuse it with being emotional, being emotionally honest is one of those key qualities of being true to yourself as well as to your partner. Being emotionally honest means you are attuned to your emotions and you recognize your every mood swing, anger, depression, craving and sadness without any denial. When that happens, you learn how to handle things more carefully during challenging circumstances.
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3. Distinguish truth from fancy ideals
If you think you make an ideal life partner coming straight out of a Bollywood flick then you are already deceiving yourself as well as your partner. So, saying things like you’d never look at other man/woman ever or you swear by your partner just creates a fancy promise which will be broken eventually. Therefore, refrain from giving such false hopes.
4. Seek the real personality
Go beyond that face, the look, attitude, social status and everything. Seek the real person behind. Try to discover the character once the initial excitement of love wears off. Because it’s the character which has the potential to make or break a relationship. Try not to get blinded by fame, fortune, good looks or talents of a human being. A true and honest relationship starts when you two discover each other’s characters.
5. Accept flaws
More of than not it’s our incapability to accept the flaws of others make them guard up. If you learn to accept your partner with his/her flaws, he/she will gradually open up their true self. The same applies to you, too. Sit with your partner, listen without judging, be sensitive to their problems and try not to use information against them in future. When people find a best friend in their spouse, they are less likely to cheat or lie.
6. Communicate
Communication is everything in a relationship. Two people can live under the same roof just like two strangers. And, nobody can be completely truthful to a stranger. So, communicate your feelings, your likes and dislikes, what you expect from life and everything with your partner. Make communication a daily habit. Make it two way and soon, your relationship will benefit from it.
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7. Apologize when you’re wrong
There’s a little difference between “I am sorry.” and “OK! I am sorry. Happy now?” Sometimes, we are wronged. Sometimes, we are wrong. Often, we apologize when we don’t want to. We end up sounding more like apologizing-under-compulsion.To be honest in a relationship, learn to apologize genuinely when you are the wrong one.
8. Appreciate and acknowledge
While it’s very important to appreciate your partner’s achievements and acknowledge the efforts, overdoing it just to make that person feel good is not the right thing to do. It will not only give the person a false boost, but, also create room for misunderstandings in the future. Instead, appreciate and acknowledge only when you truly feel it that way.
9. Replace cynicism with constructive criticism
On the contrary, if you keep pointing your finger at whatever your partner does will make you a super cynic. Try to create a balance between the cynic you and critique you.
Follow these simple tips to remain honest in a relationship and be an amazing partner!
Featured image courtesy: Reality Foto Clicks
