Unlock the Secrets to a Dream Romantic Relationship

What Defines a Romantic Relationship?

A romantic relationship is a unique bond between two people. The two people share an emotional connection, affection, and are mutual committed to building a life together. This partnership marked by love, intimacy, and shared experiences:

Emotional Connection

A strong emotional connection forms the foundation of a romantic relationship. Lovers connect on a deep level. They share thoughts and feelings. When the emotional connection is right they will trust each other and share their vulnerabilities too.

Affection and Intimacy

Physical affection including hugging and kissing is vital for romantic relationships. Being intimate means that you share the willingness to be vulnerable.

Mutual Respect

Mutual respect is essential for a healthy romantic relationship. Lovers treat each other with kindness and consideration.

Trust

Partners are honest and transparent with each other. This provides each person with a grounded sense of security and reliability.

Effective Communication

Effective communication is essential for understanding each other’s needs and expectations. You must actively listen.

Quality Time Together

Couples who are participating and looking for this time of companionship prioritize spending quality time together to build shared experiences.

Conflict Resolution Skills

Partners have developed healthy conflict resolution skills. They address disagreements constructively and seek to compromise and resolve issues.

Supportive Environment

In a good relationship, partners support each other’s aspirations and assist with providing a nurturing environment for personal growth.

Shared Values and Goals

Couples in healthy romantic relationships share common values and long-term goals. They plan their future together. Mutually.

The Four Stages of a Romantic Relationship

Generally, there are four distinct stages that romantic relationships progress through. Each one brings unique experiences and challenges.

1. Infatuation Stage

Usually called the ‘honeymoon stage’. This is where both partners experience euphoria.

Be Mindful: You can easily idealise your partner at this stage and overlook potential issues.

2. Building Stage

This is where you start to build a deeper connection with each other. You become more comfortable with each other and start to face real-life challenges together.

Be Mindful: Conflict can occur because you are leaning each others differences while establishing boundaries.

3. Commitment Stage

At this point you will make a conscious commitment to each other making plans for the future.

Be Mindful: You need to become adept at managing conflict and maintaining  commitment at this stage.

4. Fulfilment Stage

The final stage is where love has matured and it is now endearing. You love your partner and have a emotional connection and want to continue to grow together.

Be Mindful: Conflicts will arise, however, at this stage you will both have developed conflict resolutions styles that suit your dynamic.

Signs of a Good Romantic Relationship

The success of a good romantic relationship is based on various positive attributes and behaviours of the couple.

A healthy relationship is all of the above. A healthy relationship is not:

• Forcing an emotional connection where there isn’t one.
• A lack of intimacy because you just ‘don’t like them in that way’.
• The complete disregard and lack of respect for thoughts, feelings, opinions and boundaries.
• The inability to trust for fear of having it ‘thrown in your face’.
• Screaming and shouting. This is ineffective communication that damages the relationship.
• The inability to carve out quality time will ruin growth.
• The inability to disagree constructively will lead to unresolved issues.
• The lack of a supportive environment will bring dissatisfaction to you both.

Where goals and values are not shared you will struggle to find common ground and drift apart.

During each love stage you want to be:

• Swept of your feet. It makes you feel cherished and valued. Imagine your partner showing up with a bunch of flowers and announcing that he has a surprise getaway planned?

For me, I would arrange childcare, pack my bag in 30 seconds and be out the door! Bye Felicia.

• Challenged with conflict. How else will you know what makes other tick. Imagine you avoid every argument for 8 months then at month 8 you implode. It will all come crashing down. Now imagine that you feel safe disagreeing with your partner and you speak up when there is an issue. Now he knows your triggers and is mindful.

You need a safe space to speak up. For me…If I can’t speak I clam up and start to resent the other person for not making it safe for me to speak. Essentially, I start to dislike you.

• Talking about the future. You need your goals to align. Where do you want to be in 10 years time? Where do you want to retire? How much money do you want in the bank? Do you like to travel? Do you like people? Do you like rain? Do you like burgers over fruit? These are important questions because if you want to go left and he wants to go to the right you will always be pulling and pushing. If you’re aligned, that’s half the job done.

You need someone who manages money well. For me… I want to be debt free, I love to travel, I love the rain. I love pure unadulterated natural foods. Being with a man who isn’t aligned with the times I deem important will create a struggle. If I’m a saver and he is a spender and unwilling to even save a little, how will I ever be debt free?

• So deeply connected that you want to continue to grow together. It’s the ultimate signatory for emotional intimacy, trust, and personal growth. It’s an environment where you can be you. Your authentic self. Being so connected is the motivation you need for personal development. The ‘want’ to be a better person while supporting your partners aspirations. And when the challenges turn up, and they will, the connection will be so deep that it serves as a source of resilience.

You need a phenomenal connection. For me… I want to be so deeply connected that I instinctively know when he feels bad before he even speaks. I want to be able to read his body language and take my queue from there. I want to be able to support his goals, and I want him to be able support mine. I want to be my true self without judgement and I want for the relationship to be so secure we both recognise growth as a good thing and nothing to fear. A resilient love.