Even though people on television and movies tell us and teach us that love is the only thing to keep a relationship strong, the truth is, love is not everything.
You have to realize that in order to be with someone and in order to have a strong relationship, you have to be compatible with someone. Is love and compatibility the same thing? Love is a great thing that we all need in our relationship but does love fix everything?
Love is not going to be the final way to fix our struggles or the pain that we have in life and if we learn to not think of love as everything, we can learn to keep things real. We have to learn to respect each other and to be kind and humble with our partner.
Here are some reasons why love is not enough to keep a relationship strong:
Compatibility
When two people have nothing in common, chances are they are not going to be compatible. Chances are that you will not fall in love with someone if you are not compatible with them. This doesn’t mean that you will be a perfect couple and even though love can be strong and powerful, it does not mean that you will be happy together forever.
You must both have the same interests, at least some of them, and have some of the same goals to make the relationship work. A relationship will be a disaster when there is no respect, and this can even lead to abuse. If one partner is not happy about what you do and what you achieve, chances are that love will not help the relationship work.
Problems
When people do not get along, love cannot fix this. Love can make you want to overcome problems in your relationship, but it will not fix things.
Nothing can happen if two people only love each other but they have so many issues that being around each other is a chore.
People break up because of problems even when there is love.
Sacrifices
When you love someone, you have to love who you are as well. There will be times where you will stop meeting your own needs to help others or to help your partner. Will this last forever? Chances are that you will make so many sacrifices to keep the relationship that you are really allowing it to fall apart.
You should never end up giving up all of the things you want in life to make someone else happy. You should be able to be who you are and not put your identity to the side just because you want your relationship to work out.
Friendship
Friendship can have love and when you are with someone that you love, you should be best friends. This doesn’t mean that you will spend the same time together that you would with someone else, but you should be able to know what you would tolerate and when you can say no.
Just like you would tell your best friend no, you should feel comfortable enough to tell your partner that as well. You should have behaviors that help you to accept your partner and help you to be friends but to love each other and care for each other.
Do not let your self-esteem suffer just because you are in love. Make sure that you are in a relationship that is fulfilling and strong and that you want it to work out.
