We encounter plenty of emotional mistakes in our pursuit of love and happiness. Ideally, we need to learn from them so we can move forward. However, what’s happening is that we tend to make the same emotional mistakes over and over again. Reminders of what these mistakes and tips on how we can completely get passed them might do us good.

A Happy Life Is Within Reach When We Avoid These Emotional Mistakes

Most of the time, life gets in the way. And so, we go on never really keeping in mind the lessons we have learned from the past emotional mistakes we did. So we can stop torturing ourselves, read through this list of common emotional mistakes we make regularly:

Avoiding Uncomfortable Emotions Or Feelings

In the movie “Inside Out”, we learned a lot of things about how we feel. It was revealed that all kinds of emotions exist in one person. Shutting down all other emotions like fear, sadness, and disgust may be uncomfortable, but will eventually suck all the happiness out of us. The fact is, uncomfortable feelings help us grow as individuals. We have to experience negative emotions in order to truly experience positive ones.

Denying How You Feel

Similarly, denying your true feelings will also eat up the genuine joy in your heart. When we have physical injuries, we treat them. We should do the same with our emotional wounds. We should acknowledge that they are there and they need to be taken care of. And immediately, too, if you can. Suppressing emotions is unhealthy because the hurt just keeps mounting and eventually, you can blow up like a volcano or you can crash into depression. If left untreated, the emotional injuries will manifest themselves physically.

Chasing Happiness

People’s idea of happiness is becoming the rage nowadays. We chase happiness, like it’s the end-goal in life. But, chasing happiness will not give you lasting gratification. It’s like pressuring yourself to do everything in your list in order to be happy. It removes the joy from spontaneity as well as truly experiencing what life is really about. Chasing will make you feel worse because you cannot accept disappointments and frustrations, and are not living in the now. In our journey, we need to accept that the moments in our life can’t be happy all the time.

Happiness can be a tricky thing to achieve. We can’t always be happy. Life is not perfect. Our plans never work out exactly the way we want it. The key is always balance. You will be happier when you experience different kinds of emotions and know how to deal with them in a healthy way. For more tips on self-development, read the rest of our blog.

Every loving relationship will hit a road bump sooner or later when the honeymoon period simmers down. You are not out of place when you experience this. In fact, you are part of the whole population of couples experiencing highs and lows in a long-term relationship.

Ways To Sustain The Spark In Any Long-Term Relationship

The honeymoon period is the sweetest time with your lover. You are inseparable and ready to conquer all obstacles. Many couples don’t always sustain this kind of feeling. The good news is, it can be brought back:

1. Flirt with your partner.

Remember how easy it was to flirt with your partner when you were starting out? Well, he or she is still the same person so you can do it all over again. And, do it more frequently, daily if possible. There is nothing wrong with it. Flirting will just add spice to your long-term relationship.

2. Make each other feel loved.

Every woman or man wants to be treated nicely. Making your partner feel loved is easy to do as long as you remember the little things that matter – the gestures that let your partner know you care.

3. Always keep the fun.

Life has its share of problems. We have jobs, families, friends, and even “enemies”. But, if you try to keep the atmosphere fun at home, you know that you have a safe haven to fall back on. Both of you will feel safe and happy in each other’s arms.

4. Some alone time and time apart.

While we are thoroughly in love with our significant other, it is a wise idea to set some alone time. It’s like time off. It doesn’t mean that you have to have a fight in order to have a time off. You can spend this alone time thinking or writing in your journal or getting a massage, or going out with your friends. You need this personal space in order to maintain a healthy, long-term relationship.

5. Be spontaneous.

A lot of times, the things we plan do not turn out well. When your plans fail, just be spontaneous. There’s no reason to be upset over little things. You can also be spontaneous with intimacy. It can just happen anytime and anywhere you feel comfortable.

6. Keep dating.

To keep the connection and the spark alive, keep dating your partner. It doesn’t have to be fancy each time. The important thing is that you are connecting and spending time with each other.

Do these things constantly and the flame in your long-term relationship will continue to burn brightly. For more tips, read other articles on our blog.

When we get into a new relationship, we experience an all-time high. We get ecstatic about the prospects in this new partnerships. This “high” we experience every time we enter a new relationship is called the honeymoon phase. We often feel like things will be wonderful forever, but we all know that, sometimes, things don’t turn out the way we plan.

New Relationship Won’t Work If You Spot These Signs At The Beginning

Of course, nobody goes into a relationship without the thought of bringing it forward into the future. However, plenty of things can happen. We could find out that our partner never wanted something serious. Or, we might have fallen out of love with our partner after the honeymoon phase. It’s a sad truth, but not all new relationships work out.

There are actually signs for us to watch out for if we want to know early on if our new relationship will survive:

1. No discussions about the future.

This is your first red flag – there is absolutely no discussion about where your relationship is going. When you bring up the subject, your partner will immediately change the topic or will not tackle the topic in a direct manner.

2. There are critical incompatibilities.

Sometimes, incompatibility is not a big deal. But, if you can’t seem to agree on big things, it becomes a problem. For example, you don’t see eye to eye with your partner on topics about money or children.

3. Long-distance relationships with no concrete plans.

A lot of couples go into long-distance relationships, thinking that their love and attraction alone can bring them through. It’s tough enough when you are together, but how about when you’re in an entirely different country?

A new relationship is all about getting to know each other and determining whether you can move on. If you are far away from each other, it is challenging to fulfill these tasks. So, you’d have to have a concrete plan on how to go about things. If your relationship doesn’t have a structure and a plan of action to stay connected, it’s not going to work out eventually.

4. Different priorities.

In a relationship, two different people bring in their personalities, attitudes, behavior, backgrounds, and of course, priorities. If you cannot seem to reach a compromise in your priorities, then probably nothing will change in the future.

Most of the items on this list are like hard pills to swallow because we’re always hopeful that things might just be permanent with our partner. There’s hope though – you can talk your differences with your partner out but he or she has to be willing to work on things for your new relationship to survive. For more tips on dating, read our blog.

In life, we cannot avoid arguments. We may think about them negatively, but they are like salt and pepper in every relationship, or even friendship. We all have different views and backgrounds which is why arguments are inevitable. However, if one learns to be a more persuasive partner, it might be easier to resolve arguments or even avoid them in the near future.

Become A Persuasive Partner With These Tips

Being a persuasive partner doesn’t mean that we are going to win every debate that we get into with our partner. It simply means that we allow our partner to see the situation through our eyes. Here are some tips on how you can be persuasive:

1. Recognize that an argument is not to fight.

As mentioned, arguments happen because of different points of view. Look at it this way: an argument happens because you need to bring across a point. But, you can do it in a way that’s calm, healthy and productive.

2. Ask questions.

After you’ve changed your perspective on arguments, ask questions. To understand the other person better, the key thing is to get their thoughts by asking. These questions, when answered, should bring clarity.

3. Be straight to the point.

A lot of arguments tend to progress into a misunderstanding and eventually a fight when we beat around the bush. We have all heard of the “he said, she said” kind of situation. If you say what you really mean, you’ll be less likely misunderstood.

4. Check your tone and body language.

We all know how much trouble we can get into with the incorrect tone of voice. Avoid creating a tense atmosphere just by sounding kinder. Also, a persuasive partner is quick to apologize if the other party tenses up because of an angry tone or aloof body language.

5. Be a good listener.

Listen actively in order to understand your partner’s stand. Process what your partner is saying and don’t just listen because you want to formulate a good come back.

Try these tips and let’s see how persuasive you can really be. For other tips on improving relationships, read the rest of our blog.