In an ideal relationship, your partner always magical, borderline mentally know what you want. If you have to ask, it means you are in need or your partner is Clueless – and that, basically, your love is not meant to be.
Right? Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!
A beautiful relationship can feel like magic, but – as I learned from my own years of marriage – a very good relationship are not powered by magic. (Or, indeed, psychic abilities.) At some point, yes, your partner will develop a sixth sense on how to make you happy, but he or she will need some raw data first.
And if you are never able to articulate what you want, you will not get it, said Mark White, Ph.D., professor of political science, economics and philosophy at the College of Staten Island and Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Dr. White sees this problem – a common relations, especially as “needy” appears on the list many singles’ top 10 of the turn-offs – as a misunderstanding of the role and meaning of “altruism” when you are in love with someone.
Why put others first is not always a good thing
“Altruism” sounds like a good quality to have … and when it comes to volunteering, empathy, or the ability to feel connected to the world around you, it’s good. But in love, White says, there is a limit. As he recently wrote in his blog on PsychologyToday.com, White said that so-called “selfless love” – which again, seems ideal – it is really a paradox. Why?
“When you try too hard to be” disinterested “in a relationship, focusing exclusively on the needs of the other person rather than getting your own needs met, you do not let the other person do what ‘he or she wants to do, “said White.” You think it’s selfless to not express your needs, but is actually selfish, because your partner wants to know. ”
Have we not all our needs are met? Why should we remain silent? For Karen F., 40, of Washington DC, it was his reluctance to appear depends on the attention of a man. “I used to always tell my friends they do not need to call me all the time because I did not want them to feel as if I were them or put too much pressure demands on their time, “she said.” Then when I started dating my boyfriend, I said the same thing, and he replied: “OK, you do not want me to call you?” J ‘I realized how stupid it looked and realized it was all my own problems to work. ”
Do not delete your needs – communicating
Other people can truly feel their needs are not important, or even believe in a “good” relationship, they should not have to spell things, first. Neither is a good strategy for a healthy relationship. “People are not very good at reading minds. They are just not, “said W. Keith Campbell, Ph.D., head of the department of psychology at the University of Georgia. “We know that everything in life to work. But for some reason, we can not imagine that working relationship to take, “and that can lead to resentment harmful. “If you remove your needs, you end up feeling your partner – unjustly, of course – not to make and fill them anyway,” says White. (This, in turn, can lead to “break Blindside” – where you end the relationship because your partner does not provide the things he or she never knew were important to you, first. )
Altruism… or sacrifice?
Experts say excessive “altruism” can also lead to excessive sacrifice. We give all things great and small, to be in relationship, first and foremost, the fundamental freedom to date other people. From there, we could give to eat meat (for the love of a vegetarian), our pets (even the best partners have allergies!), Or… sunlight. For example, Aliza S., who never thought she move anywhere “for a guy,” relocated – albeit reluctantly – for the Middle of Nowhere, in Alaska (let’s just say winter temperatures can to 60 below) for his fiancé. “It made sense, basically,” she said. “His career – it is a wildlife biologist – only offers some options. And in the big picture, I did not do it for him, I did it for both of us. ”
OK, so this is the kind of healthy “give” is expected to do in a relationship (even considering that Aliza is Honolulu, HI). Fluctuations in your level of give and take also healthy: “The partners understand that different days and at different times, they each have different needs. In a particular situation, the report give / take could be 70/30, but over time, the average should be closer to 50/50, where each partner feels heard and to have their needs met, “says Renee A. Cohen, Ph.D., a psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles and Hermosa Beach, CA.
So if you feel in your relationship – or relationships in general – your average is closer to the mark 70/30 to 50/50, ask yourself if you are attracted to partners too demanding … and why you are not sticking up for yourself. There is a healthy, satisfying way of selfless giving to your partner and get what you need. Perhaps, as Dr. Campbell suggests is best expressed by something he has often heard his late colleague, Caryl Rusbult, Ph.D. said, “Be faithful, but do not be a doormat.”
Practice makes perfect long-term relationships
Wondering how to find that balance? With practice, of course: “Do not start important,” says Dr. White. “Start with a little self-disclosure, and you will soon discover that your partner is comfortable with it and even enjoys it. Then gradually you can move on to more serious needs that are even more important to the relationship. “After all, as noted by Dr. Campbell,” People need to be needed.
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