Relationships are what make us. They can also break us. 

How then do we have relationships that make instead of breaking us? 

There are 3 things you should know, and which can help you have a stronger relationship. 

Communicate your personal values with each other as you agree on the ones that will hold you together in your relationship. 

Communication is very crucial for any kind of relationship. But, before you communicate your values, you first need to know what they are. Don’t you? 

Values are important for the reason that they shape your personality, character and behavior. They dictate how your life goes. You make decisions and choices based on your values. 

Also, you should know that values derive from your personal belief system. Whether you believe in God or not, there is some belief in you. This is the lens you use to perceive life in you and around you. 

In case you aren’t clear about your personal values, here’s what you should do.

• Attempt to answer this question: why am I here on earth?
• You can also read a post I published a while ago on how to develop a personal mission statement.

All what you have to do is to make sure you have healthy values.

When you are clear about values, then you should communicate them with the other party in your relationship.

This is important, not only for individual relationships, but also for corporate relationships. 

Next, and now that you’re in a relationship, you will need to negotiate shared values. These are values that are representative of your individual values prior to the relationship. They also make up the foundation and reason for your relationship. 

A healthy relationship is that, which makes you better than you’ve ever been before. 

Negotiating means allowing the other person learn more about you. This is such a great benefit of communicating personal values with the other party in any relationship. 

Trust each other. 

Now that you have agreed values to help you and the other party become better than ever, you’ll need to trust each other.

Trust is such an asset in any relationship. Stronger relationships are the ones that have a higher level of trust among the people involved. 

Trust is a choice that each party involved in a relationship makes. It is choosing to believe in the other person. This belief has to do with the following: 

• Reliability. This has to do with the question of honesty between two people in a relationship. Can you trust the other party in this relationship with yourself? The question does not only apply to the other. It is a mutual matter. 
• Truth. Are you going to be conform to the shared values? Integrity comes into play here too. Are you true to yourself? Do you connect what you claim to be with what you say and do? 
• Ability and Strength. Trust empowers the other person in the relationship. You believe that they have the ability and strength to do well. 

True love isn’t only a feeling. 

Finally, true love isn’t only a feeling. If you feel this way about love, then you’ve a problem. 

Love goes beyond what you feel for someone. And true love shouldn’t be limited only to how you feel. 

Your feelings change according to what’s going on in your life. Stress from work or other demands in life dictates much of what we may feel for each other. 

True love is characterized by what Paul describes in his letter to the Church in Corinth: 

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7. ESV. 

True love also means the following: 

• All parties involved in your relationships aren’t perfect. They will make mistakes. So, true love is about giving them a second chance when that happens. 
• True love enables you to hope for a better tomorrow by allowing room for the other person to grow as a person. 
• Helping the other person to grow means holding them accountable to your agreed values. This implies reminding each other your values. You can also consider writing them some place and use them as a reminder. They need to be in front of you all the time, if possible. 

In summary, true love implies work on self and others as you help each other live by the values, upon which you’ve agreed. You do it in spite of what you feel for each other.

Sometimes, you do it against your feelings because your values are greater than what you feel. They represent your anchor, which is what keeps your relationship stead, no matter what happens around you. 

So there you have the 3 things you need to know about strong relationships:

• Communicate your personal values and agree upon the ones you will share in your relationship. 
• Trust each other. 
• True love isn’t only a feeling. 

Please, show some love by sharing this post with someone else. And thank you very much for doing so!