We all know that a truly successful lady is one who manages to keep all areas of life in good balance, including career, health, relationships and much more. It’s okay to put certain areas on hold temporarily when faced with big projects, but for the life-long success of a romantic relationship, it really comes down to our long-term strategy.
Here are 8 tips to help you create a great relationship strategy for you and your partner:
1. Be clear on your roles within the relationship
With the pressures on both the man and the woman to achieve so much each day, it can be easy to slip into relationship discontent because you both want to achieve your personal goals and yet need to manage the household, too, with or without kids.
Confusion over the roles in the home, especially with blurring gender roles in modern society, can often leave people confused and irritated because they don’t have clearly defined roles at home and within the relationship. Come up with a fairly balanced list together so that you can avoid unnecessary, repeat arguments by doing so.
2. Make an effort with one another’s family
If family relationships are important to the individual, then they need to be important to the spouse. As tough as some of these relationships can be, your partner will deeply appreciate the effort you make with your in-laws and will likely reciprocate. In addition to appreciation it conveys that you are a team and that their happiness is your happiness, a message every healthy, successful relationship requires.
Simple acts like text conversations, positive interactions on social media and phone calls, can go a long way, even if you can’t meet in person that often.
3. Regular sex is vital
Sex is not only a stress release for the busy entrepreneurial woman, it also helps us to bond with our mate, feel safe and feel a sense of trust towards them due to the release of the chemical oxytocin.
Make an effort to consistently have sex at least once or twice a week at the very least and if work-related stress is really preventing you from feeling able to, then take measures to help you relax and get in the mood as a way of removing those barriers. For some this might be a hot shower, or a brisk walk or dressing up!
Remember also, the more you do it, the more you’ll want to do it because the body’s testosterone level is elevated with the act!
4. When you’re together, be together
It’s so easy to think you’re spending time with someone in the same room when in actual fact you’re really not because your mind is elsewhere. Be present in the moment, take in what you can through all your senses, be grateful for what you have together and enjoy each other’s company, properly.
Smartphones are amazing because they can allow us to achieve much more in all those pockets of time we can use to our career’s advantage but they can also be a major distraction if you allow them to be when you’re supposed to be spending quality one-on-one bonding time with your beloved. Make it a rule to place your phones face down with the ringer completely off, when you are meant to be spending quality time together.
5. Frequently communicate and connect emotionally
Communication is vital if you’re going to make it together ‘til death parts you. It allows you to overcome challenges and build ongoing emotional intimacy. If you have fallen into a rut of not sharing and caring, the divide will deepen over time and you’ll become like neighbours rather than lovers. Not only is it important to feel emotionally supported and understood on a general basis, but when times are bad, you will already be experienced in successfully and seamlessly navigating your way through challenges as a team.
Make it a daily habit to genuinely connect emotionally about a variety of topics. As Jim Rohn once said, “Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.”
6. Share physical intimacies daily
Physical touch also initiates the release of oxytocin so the more you do it, the more your partner’s brain will associate the chemical’s aforementioned positive side-effects, with you.
If you’re so busy building your empire that the only time you get to do this is in bed or during brief down-time together, be sure to incorporate kissing, cuddling, hand-holding and touching wherever you can. This might mean holding hands in bed, sitting close together when watching a movie, holding hands when out shopping or in the park, and so on.
7. Be independently happy in your interdependent relationship
Successful relationships consist of two individuals who are independently happy within themselves and their own life. Your social life, your health and fitness, your spiritual goals, your career and financial achievements, your contribution to mankind and your mental health, are your own responsibility. Partners can support, but they cannot do for you what you need to do for yourself.
Take stock frequently and put simple steps in place that help you to rectify anything you feel less than completely satisfied with in your personal life. Remember, two happy people make a happy relationship.
8. Ensure you have shared goals
As the go-getter that you are, be sure to share exciting short, mid and long-term goals with your partner, too. Spend time discussing what you both want to achieve together, whether that’s sharing a new experience together every month or buying an investment property or taking at least one uber fabulous holiday together every year.
This helps to keep your focus on your life together, even when you get incredibly busy with your own independent life.
The above 8 tips are simple to implement consistently; they create a protective barrier around your relationship, and help ensure you grow together rather than apart.
