How to Build a Healthy, Mature Relationship

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Building this type of deep and passionate relationship with your spouse or partner requires a certain amount of knowledge. You need to know, for example, how to resolve simple conflicts and avoid screaming matches. You need to know how to avoid problems with infidelity or cheating, what your rights and responsibilities are within the partnership, how to keep your sex life healthy, and so on.

That’s where this article comes in. On this page, you’ll find the information and advice that you’ll need to build a healthy and mature romantic relationship with your spouse or partner. If you read the entire article and put my advice into practice, you’ll be well on your way to living happily ever after with the love of your life. Let’s get started, shall we?

Mature Relationship

NOTE:

A strong, mature, romantic relationship absolutely must be free of cheating, infidelity, and any other extra-marital flirtations.

Cheating ruins relationships – often irreparably. The loss of trust (arguably the most critical and fundamental component of a strong relationship) inevitable in the wake of this behaviour can destroy a couple’s bond in the blink of an eye; infidelity has absolutely no place in a healthy relationship.

Staying faithful and avoiding any ‘sinful’ temptations may sound straightforward, but many people have trouble maintaining their self-discipline. If you’re the type that often gets wound up in affairs or ‘flings’ when you’re in a relationship, then you need to address this issue before you do anything else.

Simply put, most couples never fully recover from an affair. While things may be okay in the long run, the impact that cheating has on the trust between you and your partner can take years to heal… if it ever does heal.

Total Trust & No Jealousy Issues

As I mentioned above, trust between you and your partner is absolutely critical to a happy relationship. Without trust, you’ll never really achieve a “mature” or “healthy” partnership, in fact you and your lover will regularly butt heads.

Trust is crucial for several reasons. For starters, it allows both you and your partner to breathe easily, meaning neither of you has to worry when the other person is off on a business trip, out late at the nightclub with friends, etc.

Trust also means that you and your significant other don’t ever feel the need to pry into one another’s private matters, secretly checking your partner’s emails and text messages, etc.

Another reason trust is so crucial is because it gives you (and your partner) the strength to quash any feelings of jealousy.

For example, let’s say your spouse is out of town for a few days, and doesn’t call you after a late night of partying. Your first reaction might be to become jealous, letting your imagination run wild and jumping to conclusions about your lover’s infidelity.

But, if there’s true trust between you and your partner, you’ll know that these feelings of jealousy that are running through your veins are not based in reality or past history.

If you and your significant other have always been truthful with one another, then you’ll know that these horrible fantasies of cheating and infidelity that pop into your mind when your spouse fails to phone you after a night out are simply that: stupid, unrealistic fears that are totally unfounded. Reminding yourself that your partner is trustworthy, you can sleep easily knowing that nothing sinister is going on. You will also be refraining from throwing wild and terrible accusations at your loving partner that may damage the balance of trust in your relationship in the future.

Finally, trust is critical if you want to establish a deep connection with your partner – the type of connection that builds life-long bonds and holds marriages together through thick and thin. You and your partner are a team, standing together to face all of the challenges life throws your way. Knowing that the other person “has your back,” no matter what, relies on a deep and ingrained understanding of trust.

In short, trust is everything, and you need to build a trusting relationship if you hope to live “happily ever after” with your partner.

Complete Equality (Mature Relationship)

If you and your partner are going to overcome the obstacles, arguments, and difficult times that you’re going to end up facing over the coming years, then you need to establish a level of equality.

Both you and your better half need to understand that relationships are a two-way street, and both halves of a couple need to have equal responsibilities and equal ‘rights’. That means accepting half of the household chores, half of the financial burden, and so on.

Being equal also means that you both share the burden of maintaining the health of your relationship. When fights occur, you’re both to blame. When times are tough, you’re both responsible for working through them. When your spouse is struggling with a ‘life issue’ (i.e. troubles at work, with their health, with their social life, etc.), it’s your job to be supportive and understanding. When the tables are turned, then the roles are reversed and it’s your partner’s turn to be there for you.

Both you and your lover must be willing to apologize when you’re in the wrong, and be equally willing to listen to what your partner has to say. Here’s a simple rule of thumb:  spend half your time listening to what your spouse has to say. Your turn to speak and share your thoughts will come, but only after you’ve given your partner the same opportunity.

Most importantly, you both have an equal obligation to maintain the strength of your love and the health of your relationship. If things aren’t going well and arguments are frequent, you both have to accept responsibility to fix it. Keep this concept in mind any time you’re interacting with your partner: Everything in a relationship is 50/50, and there are no exceptions to that rule.

If you and your partner are going to overcome the obstacles, arguments, and difficult times that you’re inevitably going to face over the coming years, then you need to establish equality.

Plenty of Privacy, Alone Time, and Freedom

Again, this isn’t rocket science: if you want to stay together for the rest of your lives, you need to respect your partner’s sphere of privacy, their right to have time away from you, and their freedom to do what they want (within reason).

You may think that it’s completely unacceptable for your partner to withhold their Facebook password or not want to give you the spare key to their safe deposit box.  But these small bits of privacy are completely reasonable, and you don’t have the right to demand access to every aspect of your partner’s life.

We all need a bit of privacy, and both you and your partner deserve that opportunity when it’s necessary. (I don’t advocate the idea of keeping secrets or living secret lives, but if you and your partner trust one another, your partner wanting a bit of privacy should be perfectly acceptable.)

Similarly, your spouse or partner deserves the right to spend some time apart from you. It’s not healthy to spend every waking moment together, and you both need to have separate social lives that you can escape to from time to time.

It’s rarely appropriate to demand that your partner not hang out with a friend, go to a party, or do something that’s important to them. Just like you’d want the ability to hang out with your buddies or spend some time alone without feeling guilty, your partner has this right too.

What You Need to Do

Now that you know how a healthy, robust romance should work, let’s talk about how you can go about building this type of relationship with your partner.

This section will hopefully provide you with actionable items that you can implement to improve the health of your relationship and the depth of your romantic connection.

Keep in mind, though, that no-one is perfect… and you’ll probably never be able to actively practice all of these things in your everyday life. The important thing is that, when you’re facing a situation in which you’re unsure of how to handle it, you think back to the key concepts I’m about to discuss and apply them as best you can given the situation.

It’s also worth mentioning that it sure makes things a lot easier if your partner “buys in” to these concepts too. At the very least, it’s a lot easier to build trust, resolve conflicts, and enjoy a deep bond with your significant other if he or she is equally as interested in building a mature and committed relationship.

In some cases, you may find that your partner is unwilling to do what’s necessary to improve the health of your relationship. If that happens, you need to be patient, and try to explain to them the importance of being reasonable, mature, and responsible – even if it causes more friction in the short term.

In the unlikely event that your partner is totally unwilling to put in the effort, or they seem highly irrational and inflexible on the subject, you may need to eventually deliver an ultimatum, such as: “I’m only looking for a committed, mature and loving relationship… so if you’re not willing to do your part to achieve that, then maybe we need to re-think whether or not this relationship is going to work in the long term”.

I’m not suggesting that you should dump your partner or spouse just because they don’t do all the things I’m about to recommend. But, if you’ve spent many hours talking rationally to them and trying your hardest to work through your troubles, and you’re not getting anywhere, eventually you’ll need to: relationship that you do.

Mature Relationship

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

I know you’ve heard this a hundred times before, but open and 100% honest dialogue with your spouse or partner is paramount.  The two of you should – no, you need to feel completely comfortable discussing any subject together, no matter how uncomfortable.

That means you don’t shut down your partner if they bring up a topic of conversation you’re not fond of… you don’t jump to conclusions before fully understanding your partner’s point of view… and you give one another the necessary opportunities to share feelings without fear of rejection, arguments, or other negative consequences.

It’s very important that you create an environment in which both you and your partner are comfortable to share your feelings, thoughts, dreams, and fears. If one or both parties feel like they’ll be judged by their partner or think they’ll “get in trouble” for bringing up a certain subject, then there are sure to be communication problems around the next bend.

Another important piece in the communication puzzle is the ability (and willingness) to listen and approach all topics with an open mind. As I’ll mention in a moment, the simple fact of the matter is this: You’re not always right! Don’t approach discussions with your partner thinking that their point of view is wrong, that their opinion is stupid, or that their feelings aren’t important.

Any time you’re talking with your spouse, no matter what the topic is, it’s alwaysbest to listen until you completely understand their point of view. If you need to, ask questions to clarify that you fully understand their position.

One good way to ensure that you don’t misinterpret one another is to repeat what your partner says using different words. So, if your husband tells you that he thinks it’s not fair that he has to go to yoga class but you don’t have to watch the hockey game, clarify by saying something such as: “So you think it’s unfair to have to do things I like if I don’t take part in the things you like?

Maintain a Sense of Humility (Mature Relationship)

This ties in to the previous section on communication, because achieving an open and honest line of communication with your significant other depends on both parties retaining a certain semblance of humility.

If you always enter into a heated debate with your spouse with the assumption that you’re right and they’re wrong, nothing will be achieved through communication. You need to understand, and be willing to accept, that you’ll often be wrong. Or, as is often the case, that you’re not wrong but rather that your argument is not the only ‘correct’ way of seeing things.

You’re probably wrong about half of the time. If you aren’t willing to accept that, then you need to work on reigning in your ego.

Be Ready to Lose, and Be Willing to Admit Fault

No need to really spell this one out for you, because the title says it all. It’s important that both you and your spouse be willing to admit when you’re wrong, and be open to ‘losing’ a debate if your partner’s argument is more reasonable – or if it’s just in both your interests for the argument to come to an end!

Look, we all hate to be wrong. It’s very hard to come to grips with the fact that you may have been totally wrong and out-of-line after a 2-hour marathon argument with your significant other. But if you can admit fault and accept being wrong every so often, it will make your partner value your opinion that much more.

Swallow Your Pride and Say Sorry

Even in those cases where you are 100% certain that you’re being level-headed and your partner is being a stubborn, irrational dickhead…. you should still be willing to say sorry (and mean it).

As I mentioned earlier, admitting guilt and knowing when to accept fault is a hugely important element in building a healthy relationship with minimal conflict. But equally important is the ability to apologize (in a heartfelt, meaningful, and no-strings-attached manner) after arguments or conflicts have taken place.

Don’t Be a Hypocrite: Share the Burden

If you demand that your partner do something, or insist that they don’t do something, then you should be willing to practice what you preach. This isn’t a complicated concept, so I won’t over-analyze it, but it’s worth mentioning that you and your partner should both be willing to make sacrifices in the name of your relationship.

Being in a committed relationship with someone involves certain responsibilities. These obligations, which are unavoidable when you’re sharing your life with someone, need to be shared equally.

You have a right to certain things, too: you have a right to honesty, a right to know the truth, and a right to have your opinions heard and understood. Make sure your spouse lives up to these obligations – and be willing to do the same for them.

No relationship can exist without sacrifice, but that’s not a problem if both you and your partner accept this and each live up to your ends of the bargain.

Mature Relationship

Be Willing to Sacrifice; Embrace the Compromise!

As I just mentioned, relationships require you to make certain sacrifices: You sacrifice some of your freedom when your decisions are shared with a spouse or partner; you sacrifice the right to date or flirt with other members of the opposite sex; and you sacrifice the right to always come first when decisions are being made.

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