10 Love Relationship Don'ts

Are you currently doing things that may be negatively affecting your love relationship? We don’t always understand the impact of the things we do or say until it’s too late. It’s important to avoid the things that inadvertently hurt or push our partner away.

Here are 10 things you should never do in a love relationship…ever!

1. Don’t stop falling in love over and over again

Successful couples continually fall in love with each other. They find new reasons to be in love with their partner and don’t let the petty day-to-day things ruin those feelings. Love doesn’t have to die after commitment. In fact, it should grow to ever increasing heights. So, feel free to fall in love all over again….and again…and again.

2. Don’t value being right over being loving

Too many of us want to be right more than we want to be loving. We choose winning an argument over continually winning the heart of our loved one. When you have to be right, you are simultaneously making your partner wrong. Don’t engage in these 1 or the other conversations. Instead, value your partner’s opinion and then offer up yours. They are both opinions, so 1 is not more or less correct than the other. They are simply 2 different perspectives. If you continue to make your partner feel wrong, they will stop offering their opinion to you. That doesn’t lead to any place good.

3. Don’t stop planning together for the future

It could be planning for the kid’s college or the next vacation. It could be planning for retirement or for a friend’s birthday party. The key is to keep planning together for the future. When you do so, you create common goals to pursue as a unit. This strengthens the bonds of partnership, friendship, and mutual admiration. Find something you are both interested in doing, and work on it together. You are either growing closer together or further apart. Planning together helps to keep you growing together.

4. Don’t stop being attractive for your partner

Many couples stop doing the things that led to the relationship in the first place. If you figured that once you were in a committed relationship that you could stop engaging in attractive behaviors, you were mistaken. Each person in the partnership expected the other to continue doing and saying the things they found attractive. So, flirt. Wear clothing that your partner finds you flattering in. Remind your partner how attractive they are to you. Be playful, be thoughtful and be loving. Be irresistible to your partner and allow them to return the favor.

5. Don’t embarrass your partner publicly

Remember this simple rule: Praise publicly and criticize privately. When the need arises to tell your partner something difficult, do so in the most humble, loving, respectful and honest way possible. In public, tell everyone about how fantastic your partner is. Talk about the things you find best in them. Positive attention is a reward of sorts, and what gets rewarded gets repeated. Your partner trusts you with their heart and emotional security. Don’t publicly criticize your partner.

6. Don’t say “Always” or “Never” while arguing

Whenever we say our partner always does something or never does something, we are exaggerating. The discussion then turns to how the partner being accused must defend themselves against this blatant mischaracterization. The conversation then turns to how you always or never do something. Let’s avoid all of this. When you partner does something you don’t appreciate, say so then and there. Be respectful, yet honest. Don’t pull in past issues. Avoid saying the words “always” and “never” at all costs. Focus on the event or the issue at hand only. Work together to decide how it should be handled next time. Then move on.

7. Don’t use intimacy as a weapon

Do you grant intimacy or take it away as a method of persuading your spouse to do what you want? If so, you are cheapening a relationship expression of love by making it a tool of negotiation. Eventually, your partner may not want to express intimacy towards you or receive it from you because of the conditions attached to it. There should be no conditions on expressions of love. Therefore, stop using intimacy as a weapon. This is your partner! Intimacy should come with no strings attached. It is a beautiful and loving expression that should not be used to manipulate your partner.

8. Don’t talk negatively about your partner to others

So, your partner does something you think is disrespectful. You tell your friends about it. Later, you and your partner determine it was a simple misunderstanding. When you come back around your friends with your partner, what is their impression? Are they seeing your partner as a disrespectful person? Do they have a full understanding that there was simply a miscommunication between you? We are quick to tell everyone about the bad, and very slow to tell them about the good. Be careful. You could be ruining your partner’s reputation even as you know them to be a great person. Avoid talking negatively about your partner.

9. Don’t stop nurturing the relationship

Constantly look for ways to assist your partner. Listen with the intent to understand as they talk about things that are important to them. Be present for all of your partner’s major life moments. That includes illness, major victories, crushing defeats, and family events. Go out on dates. Vacation together. Treasure warm conversation over a hot meal. Express love to each other in the way your partner needs to receive it. Be supportive at all times. Remember that the one you love and gave your heart to is worthy of the very best from you.

10. Don’t break your commitments

Your commitment to monogamy is crucial; so don’t go looking outside for what you already have at home. If you say you are going to do something, do that very thing when and how you promised it to be done. Your word has value that diminishes each time you don’t honor your commitments. So, honor yourself and your partner by honoring your commitments. Do what you said you would do each and every time. Your partner will appreciate you more for it.

If you are making any of these mistakes, make a conscious effort to put an end to them immediately. You'll be pleased at how much stronger your relationship will be.