When it comes to any relationship, be it professional, academic, parental, with siblings, or a romantic one, the key factor to sustain a healthy and successful relationship, all boils down to Respect. Respect is defined as, “A feeling of deep admiration for someone or something, elicited by their abilities, qualities or achievement”. If a person truly has respect for another in a relationship, then it is guaranteed that they will have close to no complaints ever.
Respect is normally expressed by two ways: Speaking and Feeling (or action). We have all heard the phrase “Actions speak louder than words”, but in reality, both the speaking part, as well as the feeling or action part is necessary to sustain a healthy and loving relationship. It works much like Love, take an example of an acquaintance of mine: The said acquaintance had a son who he loved and respected deeply but never said it to the son in person. Rather, he opted to just express it trough actions. The son would wish for anything and the father would buy it, the son went abroad for professional studies and the father was quick to financially aid in flight tickets when the son would miss his mother dearly. Some time later, the father died and the son was shocked to hear when his mother expressed just how much the man loved his son; he was not ready to accept it because despite the fact that the father did prove it through his actions, he never really spoke his feelings of respect, love and admiration for the son.
Speaking and Actions go hand in hand when it comes to respect for your partner in a relationship. If either of the factors is absent, then the respect will feel hollow. For the absence of Speech, the results are what were described in the example above, where as for the absence of Feeling and Action, the result would be anything but respect, as anyone and everyone can tell when we don’t really respect them but rather just say it.
So, the question arises, how to efficiently show respect to your partner and transform your relationship into a healthy, loving and successful one? We here have got your back!
Page Contents
Ways To Show Respect To Your Partner
Following points highlight and express how relationships work and where respect is needed and felt the most by your partner, along with an explanation on the reinforcement of respect.
Check In Into Your Partner’s Feelings
When we truly have immense respect for our significant other, we automatically care for them. Caring for your partner includes seemingly simple but quite meaningful questions like, after a long day at work, asking your partner, “How did your day go?” or “How are you feeling today?”
A thing to keep in mind here is to not ask these caring questions as soon as your partner enters the house, but rather, wait for them to relax, change into comfortable clothes and then with a nice drink in a comfort zone, bring up the question. Proposing the question as soon as they are back home tires the person out even more as all they are thinking about in that moment is the day’s hard tasks and even answering a simple question can feel much like a task rather than a relaxing and de-stressing method.
Listen To What Your Partner Has To Say
We have said this before and we will say it again, communication is the basic building block for a successful relationship. By communication, we are referring to completely listening to your partner’s views and opinions with an open mind and then giving your input. Respect is greatly noted by communication and is often an accurate portrayal of a person’s feelings towards you. If you truly respect a person, you will listen to what they have to say (even if the topic is uninteresting to you or if your views are different) with an open mind and an objective to understand rather than just respond. People have unique personalities and views and the views should be respected. The very grave mistake we all make and repeat is that we do not even try to understand what the other has to say. Listen to your partner, try to understand what they are trying to say along with their enthusiasm for that specific topic. Here are some inspiring love quotes to make your relationship more romantic.
Window Shopping Others In The Market
When you are in a committed and loving relationship, then window shopping and checking other people out twice or thrice is a red signal for your partner. If you truly love your partner, then you will not disrespect them by planting a toxic thought in their minds of “[Your name] is not happy with me and is looking to be in a relationship with someone else.”
Respect your partner and steer clear from making them doubt your respect and love for them.
T R U S T
This point cannot be expressed enough. The amount of trust you have for a person is a direct indication to how much respect you have for them. Trust is a by-product of respect; where there is trust, there will be respect, while where there is no trust, there will be no respect.
Project your trust by not bombarding their phones with messages after every ten minutes, asking them where they are and when they will be home; do not continue, for no reason at all, to keep calling them when they are out with friends or family. This will put the idea across that you do not trust their loyalty. It is also a great representation of you self esteem and can come off as being clingy and needy as well.
[Read: How to stop being clingy and needy in a relationship.]
Remember, communication about any doubts is key as opposed to invading their personal space and boundaries. Respect your partner, their views and choices for a successful and loving relationship. Moreover, respect who is deserving of your respect.