Making a relationship last takes a great deal of work.
Sometimes, people find that the result of that work is not worth the effort and relationships fall apart.
Some people don’t take the time to consider what is at the root of the relationship problems and assume that it is the fighting that was to blame.
The truth is that there is much more involved in the demise of a relationship, and we can save relationships if we pay attention to what could harm us.
According to science, there are three basic characteristics to every lasting relationship.
In the brilliant TED talk below, biological anthropologist Helen Fisher explains what those three things are and how you go about implementing them in your relationship.
Check it out here:
If you haven’t got time to watch the TED talk, don’t worry. Here are the 3 factors that can strengthen any relationship, according to Fisher:
1) The couple’s ability to feel empathy for one another
The first trait that Fisher says contributes to a lasting relationship is the couple’s ability to feel empathy for one another in the relationship.
Empathy is the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes to try and feel what they are feeling.
It does not require you to actually feel or to have felt that feeling, but to acknowledge it with kindness and understanding.
Individuals who are empaths are very emotional and can easily connect with other people. They make great partners in life for this reason.
But when one partner is not as empathic as the other, it can lead to problems in the relationship.
Couples can work on developing better empathy for each other in order to strengthen their relationship.
When one partner can understand where the other partner is coming from, arguments and issues can be resolved quickly and easily.
2) The ability to control emotions during highly stressful situations
The second trait that Fisher says is vital to the success of any relationship is the couple’s ability to control their emotions during highly stressful situations.
For example, couples who fight about money problems are more likely to break up than those who don’t.
Why is that do you think?
(Are you interested in finding out how to develop your emotional maturity? Check out our article: 24 key signs of emotional maturity)
One theory is that when you add the stress of money to an already fragile relationship, partners will walk away from the relationship citing they can deal with their money problems on their own.
If they had let cooler heads prevail, they might find that giving each other room to vent and express feelings without assigning blame can make a big difference in the success rates of relationships.
Rather than get bent out of shape about marital or relationship problems and take it out on each other, working through issues together in a respectful manner can help save the relationship and make it stronger over time.
3) The use of positive illusions
Finally, Fisher says that the use of positive illusions in a relationship could be the key to saving it and strengthening it in the long term.
What are positive illusions?
They are like positive self-talk, but for your relationship.
After a while, that cute sound your guy makes when he’s laughing gets real old and starts you weigh on you.
Instead of focusing on that sound, focus on the times he doesn’t make the sound. Positive illusions help you reframe your partner’s habits, personality, and routines in a way that doesn’t make you want to run off into the sunset screaming bloody murder.
Focus on what is good about your partner, instead of the things you can’t change. We got so caught up in what annoys us that we let that overshadow what is good about the people we love.
If we all spent a little more time focusing on the good, our relationships would be in much better shape. After all, nobody is perfect.
When it comes to creating a lasting love and long-term relationship, both partners need to be committed to making it work.
It might seem obvious, but many people float through life not really knowing how to fix their relationship.
People tell themselves that’s just how it is, but the truth is that you can have a lasting impact on the success of your relationship if you keep working at it.
Don’t fool yourself into thinking love is easy. There aren’t 1,867,843 songs writing about love because it’s easy.
So the next time you find yourself wondering if you can stand to be a relationship any longer, ask yourself if you are being empathic toward the other person, are you controlling your emotions or letting your emotions control you, and ask yourself if you are trying your best to see the other person in a positive light.
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