10 Habits To Keep In Mind For A Healthy Relationship

Healthy relationships play a huge role in your success as an individual. Studies suggest that when people have good relationships, they are less likely to be stressed, they develop healthier habits, and they also feel a strong sense of purpose in their lives. Our social lives can affect our overall well-being; that’s why we should make it a point to maintain good relationships. 

While this all sounds great, we also know that building better relationships and maintaining them requires effort. In our time today, when social distancing is the new normal, we are faced with several challenges on how we can socialize. It’s a good thing that we have technologies that allow us to communicate and reach out to our friends and family despite the pandemic. 

Here are ten habits that you can nurture so that you can keep a healthy relationship with your loved ones. 

Habit 1: Reconnect With Yourself First

For you to achieve the good qualities of a healthy relationship, you should first be able to be intimate with yourself. When you are a good friend to yourself, then you know you can do the same for your loved ones. So, take time to reflect on your life, your character, your thoughts, and feelings. 

Having some time alone isn’t so bad. It’s nice to reflect and think about how you treat yourself as well as how you treat other people. You can acknowledge what behaviors you don’t like, and how you can change them. 

Also, you can ponder on what you like about your friendships. You may even use a healthy relationship checklist to see if you’re giving enough to the people you care about. 

Habit 2: Sharpen Your Communication Skills

For a relationship to be healthy, you and your friend ought to sharpen your communication skills. If you don’t put enough effort into this, your friendship may suffer from misunderstandings, arguments, and fights. 

Learn to listen when your friend is talking to you and learn to express your thoughts and feelings to your friend as well. Allow yourself to be a bit more vulnerable and simply trust that they will also be there to listen to you. 

Habit 3: Learn How To Argue In A Healthy Way

When we think of two people arguing, we imagine that they’re close to fighting. But in relationships, disagreements are normal. It’s how we handle our emotions and how we express our important feelings. 

You may feel frustrated or even angry at times. Don’t walk away from arguments; instead, learn to argue in a healthy way. Learn how to express your feelings without being mean or hurtful. Talk about what you’re arguing about calmly. Hear each other out, and you’ll see that both of you will feel better afterward. 

Habit 4: Don’t Be Afraid To Ask

Whenever you’re in doubt, don’t just assume and jump to conclusions. Instead, ask your friend about whatever it is that’s bugging them or you. If you simply assume, it can lead to jealousy, anger, and even hate. You’ll feel all these intense emotions, and you don’t even have a strong basis for it. 

Habit 5: Disconnect From Toxic Relationships

No matter how hard we try, some relationships are just not working as we hoped they would. Some of the people we consider friends bring in a lot of negativity, and it affects us. Even if disconnecting with these people is hard, you have to think about your well-being. 

You want to surround yourself with people who have contagious positivity. When trying to remove negative people in your life, it doesn’t make you a mean person. You’re simply choosing to spend your precious time and energy on more meaningful relationships, and that’s okay. 

Habit 6: Practice Empathy

Empathy is one of the foundations of a good relationship. With it, you can build trust with your friend, as well as foster collaboration. You feel that you are there for each other, and you feel safer. Overall, empathy makes you a happier person, too. 

For you to build and maintain good relationships, develop empathy so that you’re not quick to judge others. You will also learn to be a better listener whenever your friends need someone to talk to. 

So, the next time you talk to your friends, ask them how they’re doing. And don’t just ask for the sake of asking. Be sure that you’re genuinely interested in how they are and how their life is going. 

Habit 7: Be More Appreciative

As a good friend, make sure that you make your loved ones feel valued. Make them feel that you are grateful that you have them in your life. There are many ways to do this, not just by saying it. Express your appreciation in the language that you are most comfortable with. 

Some people give gifts, while others make a hearty meal. Some write poems, and others write letters with endearing words. It can be different for each of us. Do it in a way that’s uniquely your own and will be fully appreciated by your loved ones. 

Habit 8: Be Supportive Of Others’ Dreams

We all have dreams that we want to achieve. We can be more successful in our journey towards it if we have a group of supportive people in our lives. Be sure that you are that supportive friend to your loved ones. 

Know what their dreams are and ask them what you can do to help them make it a reality. When they talk about their ambitions, make it a point to listen and offer words of support. Whenever they experience challenges along the way, be there for them and offer comfort. 

Habit 9: Be A Positive Person

In the same way that you’d want to have positive people around you, be one for your friends. When they’re done, do something to lift their spirits up. Encourage them to keep going. When they’ve achieved a milestone, celebrate with them, and be happy for them. 

Habit 10: Spend Quality Time

We all have so many things on our plate, but if we want to maintain healthy relationships, we should also give them the quality time that they need. It doesn’t have to take chunks of your day every day. You can just make a phone call to a friend and ask them how they’re doing or that you’re thinking about them. 

Final Thoughts

These are some of the habits that you can develop so that you can enjoy the good characteristics of a healthy relationship. Aspire to be a great friend to others, and hope that they will do the same to you.