Your partner’s family and friends, as well as your own, will impact your relationship in some way and while family and friends are part of a larger system that can provide encouragement to your relationship, that larger system can also be detrimental to your relationship if there is a significant lack of acceptance and support.
Family and friends are part of a larger system that can provide encouragement to your relationship, but that larger system can also be detrimental to your relationship if there is a significant lack of acceptance and support. Regardless of the level of acceptance and support, couples must set appropriate boundaries to to ensure both are comfortable with the level of influence and interference family and friends have on their relationship.
Family and friends are part of a larger system that can provide encouragement to your relationship, but that larger system can also be detrimental to your relationship if there is a significant lack of acceptance and support.
There are certain expectations you have of yourself, and others that you put on your partner, and while that is not a bad thing, it can become detrimental to your relationship if your expectations are not realistic or even worse, uncommunicated.
The next time you or your partner feel disappointed because of an unmet expectation, talk about it. Try to identify why the expectation was not met. Was it too high to achieve? Was it not communicated? Did the expectation change over time without one partner knowing? Gaining some understanding and resolution out of the experience can help both of you meet future expectations.
If you expect something from your partner that is completely outside of their capabilities, how can your partner come close to meeting them? Additionally, communicating expectations effectively and managing conflict contributing to expectations is fundamental to ensuring your relationship endures.
Unfulfilled expectations often become the source of conflict because preconceived notion distorts the actual experience. If you expect something from your partner that is completely outside of their ability or if you don’t tell them what your expectations are – how can your partner come even close to meeting them?
Commitment is not just a verbal exchange; it is a way of living out your relationship through meaningful actions that honour your verbal exchange.
If you are engaged, notice the ways in which your commitment to your partner and your relationship are on display for others to honour. If you are married, acknowledge that the ring on your finger tells everyone you are committed to your partner.
