Understanding: The Key to a Healthy Relationship
In relationships, conflicts and squabbles are bound to occur. Little things can easily spark up anger and exchange of words. When the right approach to handling these issues is not taken, they can escalate to really bad scenarios. Therefore, knowing how to understand your partner in every action portrayed is important and this is exactly what we shall look into.
What is Understanding in Relationships?
There’s the ideology that understanding has to do with going along with everything and anything your partner does or says. This is erroneous. Understanding can be a lot of things ranging from being emotionally intelligent towards your partner to knowing what your partner means with their words and their intentions behind them, and also to listening to our partners intently.
In all of these, it boils down to one thing; allowing your partner to be themselves without judgment or squabbles as well as learning to cope and live with it. For instance, in a scenario where your partner hates to eat peppery food, while on the other hand, you like your food extra peppery. Without mutual understanding, this is bound to cause problems hence using a moderate amount of pepper to cook would be better. It also means staying to learn their different perspectives on things and why it is so, to a point where you get it completely without having to agree.
What Happens When There is no Understanding?
Ever argued endlessly with your partner over silly things? Perhaps, your partner doesn’t like to dry his/her body after taking a bath and makes a news on the floor with the water dripping off their body. This irritates you so much and causes an argument between you both. An argument where neither of you is talking to the other.
This is a pure instance of what lack of understanding does in a relationship. It sparks up arguments, fights, and conflicts and can even lead to break-ups. In situations where there is no breakup, there is a lack of trust, misunderstanding, doubt, and unhappiness in that relationship.
How to Foster Good Understanding
Are you having issues with knowing how to be an understanding partner? Have you tried at all and it didn’t work? Here are a bunch of things you can do to help your relationship:
As a human, you’ve got things that differentiate you from others. There is no person you’re completely alike with, not even your partner. This is exactly why it is paramount to know your partner in-depth. Ranging from your partner’s strengths and weaknesses to likes and dislikes to annoying habits, and a bunch of others. When you understand and know these, conflicts that could arise from individual differences lessens.
To have a relationship less free of squabbles, always be ready to agree-to-disagree. Always standing your ground and playing the “I’m always right” won’t help you. Sometimes, be ready to compromise for peace to reign.
If your partner happens to do something you don’t like, do not judge them outrightly. Try to give them the chance to explain the why, the intentions, and the motive behind their actions. This doesn’t only foster understanding but trust as well.
This is where respect comes in. It is advised to respect your partner’s beliefs and ideologies. If there’s any that doesn’t sit right with you, calmly talk it through with a series of questions that will help you understand the why factor. If you don’t do this and choose to impose your own beliefs, you will only become ignorant of how they feel. Perhaps, sometimes in the future when something similar elicits an unexpected reaction from your partner, you’re left bereft with knowledge as to how to manage the situation.
This has to do with allowing your partner to have friends, or spend time with their family. When you do this, you are showing your partner that you understand that your relationship is not the only thing to live for, that they are allowed to live life to the fullest, chase that dream, and become bigger and better versions of themselves
Conclusion
Handling your individual differences can be an uphill task. However, it is achievable. Just sprinkle understanding in that relationship, and watch the love and joy that once filled your heart re-ignite.
You can mend, sustain and push your relationship forward with a good understanding. In place of fights and actions, go for understanding.
