Loving Others Long-Term

Making people and our relationships a priority, opening our hearts to love, and caring about others are all types of relationship investments. We "bear up" as we endure hard times knowing that those times can pass if all parties remain fully committed.

Our best relationships are ones that are built on mutual support. Realizing that both support and roles ebb and flow, as life and the relationship changes, helps us to embrace the idea that commitment involves mutual support long-term.

Partial commitment doesn’t work because it leaves the “way out door” open. That door opening widens as we experience times where we feel unhappy and/or discontent.

Placing fault doesn’t help change relationship feelings and closeness. Working toward good communication, emotional stability, and physical closeness, have to be long-term priorities in relationships.

It can be difficult to trust and to open up to others when we have been hurt or no longer feel a close connection. We can also feel at times that we have been the person who is/was “always” putting forth the effort to maintain a relationship. All of this can leave us feeling disconnected, vulnerable, and with thoughts that the only option left is to end a relationship.

Relationship Education encourages stronger connections and deeper commitments. These type of commitments are based on a realization/knowledge that living life fully goes far beyond just living for “self”. Life is a shared experience, those experiences are more fulfilling when we develop relationships with people who are willing to share life with us.

When love is freely given and commitment is not conditional stronger relationship bonds can be formed and shared. Learning to love, understanding that different is ok, and accepting the fact that people have needs and strengths is all a part of learning more about how we connect on a relationship level.

Relationship Education curriculum helps people to talk through topics of life that can otherwise be difficult or awkward to bring up in a regular conversation. Communication can be difficult, yet is tied to every part of a relationship in one way or another. Learning how to talk through and about relationship expectations, personal priorities, differing opinions, personalities types and love styles, forgiveness and reconciliation helps us to love one another better long-term.

If you are looking for a self-guided process that helps individuals and couples work toward a more fulfilling relationships long-term our course books may be for you. Loving Others (For couples), Loving Yourself, Reconciling Through Love are written as self-guided courses but can also be used in conjunction with lay therapy or professional counseling.

Visit RealLifeRelationships.org to learn more and to purchase the course books that are also offered by Bretta Durham through Amazon.com.