Relationships

Serious Relationship Questions to Ask Before Settling Down

BY Raquel

When we’re so in love, we sometimes forget or ignore what’s real. We think that it’s so cute when our partner’s snoring in his or her sleep and it wakes us up in the middle of the night. We think it’s just fine to be all dressed up and ready to go, only to wait for our partner who’ll probably take about another 45 minutes to get ready.

We all have our faults and differences. And we need to accept them. But before we can do all these, we need to realize what they are. We need to know if they will get in the way of the relationship or if they’re something that we’re prepared to live happily ever after with.

If we want a long-term relationship, it would be best if we talk about these things. Talking about serious matters isn’t easy. It’s something that we really don’t want to do, especially when we’re...

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BY Raquel

I’ve mentioned in the previous blog entry some of the relationship questions to ask when things aren’t going well. Let’s go to the brighter side of the spectrum of a love relationship this time.

What if you’re working towards becoming more intimate with a person you’ve been seeing? And it doesn’t only mean physical intimacy, but really getting to know this person in all aspects of life. Regardless of how long you’ve known each other, there are oftentimes interesting things that you still don’t know about the other person – interesting things that may be significant information as your relationship progresses.

One of the ways you can develop a more intimate relationship is to play a game. Yes, you got that right. But it’s a game where you ask questions to get to know each other better. No hard and fast rules here except to...

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BY Raquel

In my last post, I talked about taking disagreements and differences with open arms and how doing this can actually help you nurture your relationship. That it helps you have a colorful life that’s never dull. But what if in embracing all these disagreements, life gives you punches? When is it time to give up, opt out, and move on?

When to end a relationship is really tough to answer. And this is not only with your personal relationships, but also with your office, your business or with your whole career. How do you know when you should stay and when it’s time to move on? There’s always something that will keep you hanging on. You’d always think if you’ll regret the decision of leaving later on.

I don’t have a concrete...

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BY Raquel

There was a time when I thought that disagreeing always meant a bad thing in any kind of relationship. But as I got older, I learned that it’s not the presence or absence of disagreements and differences that make a relationship healthy or unhealthy, but the way they’re handled. In fact, I even believe now that when you always agree, the more that you should ask the question, “Is my relationship healthy?”

I’ve realized that being able to embrace the fact that disagreements and differences are part of any relationship and knowing how to handle them strengthens me as an individual and my relationship. It’s given me wider views, fresh opinions, and more mature ways of handling difficult situations. It’s even gifted me bit by bit with the ability...

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BY Raquel

I’ve talked about various aspects and elements of relationships in my recent blog entries. This is simply because my own personal reflection and your comments have triggered more ideas and insights on how to have a healthy relationship. For this reason, I’d like to dig into another important ingredient in relationships – respect.

Most of you, if not all, would agree that respect is significant in any kind of relationship. Even in dealing with people that you work with in your office or business, things are much better when there is mutual respect. But how can we show respect? How do we practice it in our relationships?

In her 1960’s hit song, music icon Aretha Franklin spelled the word out as something that a modern woman demands from a man....

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BY Raquel

“You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.”

When Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India, said this, I think it was for more political reasons and for her peace advocacy. But I believe we can also take this as inspiration in communicating towards a successful relationship with a spouse or a boyfriend/girlfriend. I believe that a relationship can’t succeed if hearts and minds are kept closed and unyielding.

While communication is not everything there is to a relationship, I think there won’t be any real relationship between two people, if they don’t openly communicate and are always trying to assert themselves once they talk. Of course, I don’t think that there is such a thing as a perfect relationship in terms...

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BY Raquel

Trust is one of the interesting concepts that have come out in this blog recently, particularly when I wrote about keeping long-distance ties. Many of you would agree that in a relationship, building trust is a critical foundation. You need it when you want to establish a good connection with people – not just in marriage or boyfriend-girlfriend relationships, but equally important in raising children, being with friends, working with colleagues, and others. And this is true regardless of where you are – whether the other person is miles away from you or he or she’s someone that you see everyday.

I’ve learned a great deal about trust in my life. Most of them I got the hard way – through mistakes. In the first place, I think that’s...

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BY Raquel

In my last piece, I disclosed some of the things that make my relationship with my husband work. It did raise some interesting points from readers. So, I’ve thought of having more articles on relationships. In this particular item, though, I’m featuring other people’s insights.

I was discussing about long-distance relationships with some people recently and it drew a good exchange of opinions and experiences. A couple of my friends attest to the fact that keeping a good long-distance relationship is possible. They’re kind enough to share with us their thoughts on not just love relationships, but also keeping in touch with family members and friends who are living in another part of the world.

14 years of going the distance for love

Rebecca,...

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BY Raquel

My husband and I recently celebrated our seven years of marriage. Seven may not be much for people who have already celebrated their silver or golden anniversaries. But I just want to share with you what has been working for us, so far. So, I’ve listed down 7 things that have kept us going in our relationship.

We find common ground with enough room to grow.

Just like many couples, my husband and I have many similarities and differences. We generally both love music, movies, traveling, food, reading, writing, and many other things in life. And it’s because of our common interests that we initially clicked. But there are some things that we don’t exactly agree on. I love citrus fruits and juices, but he doesn’t. He digs heavy metal, which can be tolerable for me as long as the volume is kept very low.

All...

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