In the context of a successful relationship, what truly matters is the dynamic that you and your significant other have with each other. The most vital thing is the partnership that you build together.
What’s less important, on the other hand, are your and your partner’s personalities and who you are as individuals.
A recent study found that the things to focus on are how satisfied you feel your partner is with you and how appreciative you are of them.
Other things linked to successful relationships include your commitment to your significant other, whether you’re happy with your intimate life, and how you handle conflict.
But above everything, try to focus on how you engage with your partner and what your dynamic with them actually is. This is much more essential than wondering whether the person you’re dating fits your theoretical checklist of what you’re looking for in a partner.
Some of the biggest relationship red flags and toxic personality traits to beware of are inconsistent behavior, desiring and creating drama, and always wanting attention.
Other behaviors that should set off your inner alarm bells are things like the other person trying to control you and not being able to be happy for you when something good happens.
According to WebMD, toxic traits also include manipulation and confusing behavior. In a nutshell, you should be worried if the person you’re dating makes you feel uncomfortable and if you can’t fully be yourself around them.
It’s also not a good sign if you constantly feel like you have to defend them or that they never apologize for doing something wrong.
Overall, it’s a good thing when someone shows their most authentic ‘self’ on a date. That way, you can quickly tell if you’re potentially compatible, whether there’s any chemistry there, what relationship green, yellow, and red flags are present, etc.
Sure, a bad date might make you feel you’ve wasted your time, money, and energy. But it’s better to have a bad date and call it quits than to date someone for longer, only to realize later they’ve been hiding their unsavory character features.
Besides, these situations can help you better understand what you’re looking for in a serious partner. And they make for good stories to warn and amuse your friends (or strangers on the internet) with.
Not everyone is expecting their first date to go ‘perfectly.’ People can and do make mistakes. And there’s bound to be some awkwardness at first. Besides, thinking about ‘perfection’ puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on both of you. And you never know—your ideas of what constitutes a ‘perfect’ date might be at odds.
That being said, there are lots of ways to leave a horrible first impression. It’s one thing to be authentic and true to yourself. But it’s also important to think before you act if you’re serious about wanting a romantic relationship.
