Relationships 101

It is easy to take things for granted, what is more difficult is to put in effort to something to keep it new everyday. If you took your garden for granted you would soon be living in an insect-infested jungle. If you took your car for granted you would one day find yourself stranded somewhere far from home. Just like your Garden and your car, if you take your relationship for granted you could find you are stranded in a festering jungle. That is why a new study has pointed to the need for couples to have a “relationship work ethic”.

For the study couples took a test that would measure their relationship skills and satisfaction. Half of the subjects then took part in workshops aimed at providing skills in achieving work-partner balance. Then for a second time all of the subjects were again measured on their relationship satisfaction levels.

It emerged that couples who had taken the workshop reported less physical and emotional stress as well as a greater ability to manage the demands of work, partnership, and home life.

The researchers say that this shows a need for couples to be willing to deliberately work on their relationship as they would, say, work on a skill for the workplace. They say that couples need to prioritise their partner, put some energy into active listening, plan time together, and put effort into finding workable solutions for sharing household tasks.

As the authors of the study point out, people naturally put effort into getting things right, being in time, and being pleasant in the workplace. However, it can be easy to assume that a relationship will just take care of itself if you love each other. To maintain a relationship though you need to develop a relationship work ethic and continue to put into this most important life aspect.

Is there someone you are taking for granted in your life? It could be time to clean the weeds out of your attitude and just make time for them. Sprinkle some attention around the base of your relationship, water it in with love, and flowering is a certainty.