Want Happy Relationships?

Have you ever started a new relationship that seemed just perfect--the one you've been waiting for--and then seemingly out of the blue, it all starts to go bad? If so, you're not alone. We're guessing you, like most of us, want a healthy, successful relationship with a caring loving partner. Once you find that person and begin the relationship, the very first thing you might want to do is learn how to maintain it for a lifetime. A big mistake many people make is to believe that when you first start a new intimate relationship, you should become one with the other person. Read on to find out seven tips that will help you sustain your special "ME" and not just become a "WE.'

To create happy, satisfying relationships, it is imperative that you do everything you can to look after your own individual spirit. You are a vital element of every relationship you are a part of. Your personal desires, values, and dreams are unique and enhance every relationship you enter into and you enhance them only the way YOU can. If you believe that when you begin a new relationship you should develop all the same wants and desires that your partner has, you will miss much of what a truly loving relationship can offer.

Whether you're in a new romance or have been with your partner for many years, nurturing and caring for each person's uniqueness is a common problem for many relationships.

Some people spend so much time with their partner that they experience a sense of loss and feel alone when they're separated from them for any period of time. This is a clue that you're starting to lose "you". When you nurture your own personal values, dreams, and desires, you maintain your sense of self. By doing this, you are more able to give all of beautiful gifts you have to offer to your relationship when you do spend time as a couple:

Here are seven tips for nurturing and cultivating your unique essence:

1. Spend an evening reading. Make sure you read books that engage you, or just make you feel good. If you've been waiting to get your hands on a particular book, take a few minutes now and schedule time to read it. Quiet time at home, enjoying a good book without any interruptions can energize you and bring new life into your relationship.

2. Go places that you've wanted to go but haven't done so because your partner wasn't interested. Watch a movie that you've wanted to see, visit that museum with the interesting exhibit, or take those dance lessons you've always been curious about. Don't deny yourself something you want to experience just because your partner doesn't share your interest.

3. Make time for family. Being with loving family members helps you to create and maintain thriving relationships in other areas of your life. Very often, when we enter into a new intimate relationship, we put aside our family time in favor of spending all our time with the new love interest. Strong family ties help us feel a sense of belonging that is with us whether we're in an intimate relationship or not.

4. Hang out with your friends; get out and do things with them. Having good friends is a gift and also helps you to relax and be yourself.

5. Keep doing what you love to do. If you're a bowler and your partner isn't, there's no need to stop bowling. If you like to do puzzles, spend time doing them. Just because you're a couple and your partner isn't interested, doesn't mean you should stop being interested. It was something you liked doing before and it's almost guaranteed you still will.

6. Pamper yourself! Enjoy a bubble bath or whirlpool. Or get a massage. Make yourself feel good and get re-energized for the next time you and your partner are together.

7. Discover what's deeply important to you. The fastest way to nurture yourself is to pinpoint what you value. When you do this, you are able to give to yourself and to your relationship from a much deeper and more authentic place. Be our guests and download our free values worksheet. You can download it when you visit our website. On completion of the exercise, make a list of the things you can do that will help you to have more of what you value in your life. Next time you are feeling lonely, get out your list and do something on it.

A healthy, satisfying relationship needs as much supportive 'me' time as it does 'we' time. Be sure to schedule both.