5 Characteristics of a Healthy Relationship
Communication
Effectively communicating with your spouse is processing and exchanging information, thoughts, ideas, or feelings in a way that is clear, concise, and easy to understand. It involves not only the transmission of a message but also ensuring that the message is accurately received and interpreted by the receiver.
When communication is effective, it leaves all parties involved satisfied and feeling accomplished. By delivering messages clearly, there is no room for misunderstanding or alteration of messages, which decreases the potential for conflict. Always pray before and after the conversation.
Trust
Feeling safe with your partner and having confidence that they will not hurt or violate you. Trust is the foundation of relationships because it allows you to be vulnerable and open up to the person without having to defensively protect yourself. Honest communication is vital in building trust in your endeavor to create a healthy relationship.
Respect
Respecting your partner requires an understanding of equal partnership. Considering your partner's opinion feelings and desires are some of the key ways to show respect. Validation, celebration and consideration are tools to creating an equal partnership where your partner feels they can proactively communicate without judgement or rejection.
Honest
Open honesty enables authenticity. Being authentic allows your partner to truly know you. Creating an honest relationship allows your partner to understand your needs and how to respond to them. This characteristic leads back to communication. Honesty can be difficult because often you may want to protect your partner's feelings. Set aside time to talk without interruption or distractions. Think about what you want to say and be clear about what you want to communicate. Ensure and reassure your partner. Create a safe place for your partner to hear accurately and understand what you mean. Pray before you share.
Compromise
Compromise is problem-solving healthily. Also, compromise in a healthy relationship means both people consistently give up something to agree. In your equal partnership, you can agree that compromises are made with some idea that they'll be good for the health of the relationship as a whole. Remember to maintain your individuality while meeting your partners needs.
Tool Kit:
5 Keys to Effective Communication
- Choose your words wisely. The Gift of Empathy is having empathy for others, and allowing your spouse to trust you. Empathizing with empathy it creates a safe space for support, and an open heart to speak to.
- Listen to what your spouse has to say without interruption.
- Consider yours and their tone, inflection, and body language.
- Lead with respect and empathy. Use words like I respect your opinion, I appreciate how you broke it down for me.
- Know when to stop. Efficiently communicating how you feel often helps with effectively communicating your feelings. Don’t wait to share when something is bothering you. Don’t begin communicating when you’re on overload.
Talk about what you want, need, and feel – use 'I' statements such as 'I need', 'I want', and 'I feel' accept responsibility for your feelings. Allow your spouse to respond and share their heart on the matters at hand. Communication works when you work at it. Don’t put high expectations on your spouse to change overnight. Grow with them as you both evolve to a more excellent way of communicating.
