![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/image-12-696x394.png\" "\\"Couple\\"\/")
<\/div>\nThe story we\u2019re sold about love usually doesn\u2019t go past the exposition. The part people write about and talk about and make films about is the seeking, finding, losing and finding again.<\/p>\n
We talk about heartbreak and loss, and how we grapple with ourselves and our partners, but we don\u2019t talk about the mundane, the ordinary, the everyday lives we ultimately settle back into once the firework show has ended.<\/p>\n
Because we\u2019re conditioned to think that the chase and the thrill and the acquisition of love is love itself, we\u2019re hooked on ideas more than we are open to connection.<\/p>\n
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We aren\u2019t willing to do the work. Work isn\u2019t romantic. Work isn\u2019t fun.<\/p>\n
Here are all the signs that you\u2019re already in the right relationship. It\u2019s just a matter of seeing it through.<\/p>\n
1. You feel at peace.<\/p>\n
In any other situation, this would put you at ease. But lately, it\u2019s left you questioning whether or not that romantic spark still exists.<\/p>\n
The truth is that the kind of love that lasts, the kind on which you build a respectful, intimate, real relationship, makes you feel at peace.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s more comfort than it is panic and thrill. There\u2019s a difference between settling into comfort and settling for less than a love that makes you feel like your best, most grounded self.<\/p>\n
2. You know how to resolve your old relationship patterns.<\/p>\n
When you arrive at the point that you\u2019re able to recognize a pattern emerging, you\u2019re also at the point where you\u2019re ready to let it go.<\/p>\n
Often in the best relationships, these issues stand front-and-center. It\u2019s never a matter of whether or not you experience them, but whether or not you resolve them.<\/p>\n
3. You realize that nobody is responsible for your happiness but you.<\/p>\n
When most people give up on love, it\u2019s because they\u2019ve reached the point at which the other person doesn\u2019t make them happy.<\/p>\n
The harsh reality is that nobody else can make you happy \u2014 not consistently, anyway. Regardless, that\u2019s never something you should rely on.<\/p>\n
Unhappy periods will come and go, but your bond has to be stronger.<\/p>\n
The key to that is fueling your own gas tank; as anyone in a long-term relationship can tell you, it\u2019s unrealistic attachment and expectation that sinks the ship faster than anything else.<\/p>\n
4. You have an unprecedented level of acceptance for one another.<\/p>\n
This is often an overlooked quality for a relationship, but it\u2019s an important one.<\/p>\n
The right relationship is the one in which you have a mutual acceptance and respect for one another.<\/p>\n
In other words, you\u2019re not trying to change each other. You don\u2019t tease each other for the little things.<\/p>\n
You see who the person is in their entirety, not just the parts you\u2019d prefer.<\/p>\n
5. You want the same things in the long-term.<\/p>\n
There are so many crucial practicalities when it comes to choosing a life partner who\u2019s suited for you, though none of them seem very romantic on the surface.<\/p>\n
One of the most important is whether or not you want the same things in the big picture: kids or dogs or both? Suburbs or city?<\/p>\n
If any one person has to compromise a fundamental part of the life they want to live for the sake of the relationship, it likely won\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n
6. You both want to make it work.<\/p>\n
All relationships have issues. Making it through them is usually only a matter of whether or not both parties have a deep, innate desire to do so.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of work, compromise and sacrifice that goes into fostering a healthy, loving bond, and if you aren\u2019t willing to give it all you have, you probably won\u2019t make it through the trials that you will inevitably face.<\/p>\n
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