New relationships usually spark excitement because they provide a brand new angle on life for you to take advantage of.
Your natural curiosity as a human being makes you anxious to see just what this new relationship is all about. As thrilling as this may be, however, new relationships also invariably bring along new stresses.
Use these tips to reduce that stress:
1. Remember to embrace the real you. Try not to alter your actions, behaviors or beliefs to fall in line with expectations of the other person. The pressure to please others can be great, especially if you want the relationship to work, but avoid compromising who you really are. Such compromises can cause a great deal of unnecessary stress.
- Be true to yourself. If that isn’t what the other person is looking for, move on.
- Know that you’re fabulous just as you are and avoid allowing the other person’s opinion of you to force you to try and change.
2. Be honest about your feelings. Your feelings are true to who you are, and you should always try to stand behind them. Being honest about your feelings is the best way to start a trend of being honest in a relationship. The more upfront you are about how you feel, the more respect you’ll get from the other person, and the less stressful you’ll feel.
- If you don’t like when something is done in a particular way, just say it. Both of you will either agree to disagree, or decide there’s no room for compromise or meeting halfway.
- If the person’s actions make you happy, say it. That’s the best way to provide reassurance that things are going smoothly.
2. Let things flow naturally. Try not to force the relationship into new stages before it is ready. Just enjoying getting to know each other and letting the relationship build at its own speed is the stress-free way to progress.
3. Take the time to get to know the person. It’s important that as you spend time together, you make the effort to truly know the person you’re with. What are their likes and dislikes? What makes them happy or upset? What are their beliefs? How compatible are both of you, really?
- Simply wondering about these important matters can cause undue stress, so find out what your inquiring mind wants to know!
4. Be optimistic. Going into a new relationship with a positive outlook, instead of telling yourself that it’s probably not going to work out, keeps you from stressing yourself out about the whole situation. Also, it enables you to focus on (and enjoy) what’s good about the relationship rather than agonizing over every detail.
Your ultimate objective is to build relationships with others that truly work. Of course, there will be times when things don’t go as you would like them to, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be corrected along the way.
The stress of a new relationship doesn’t have to be a burden. Instead, use these tips to reduce your new relationship stress and build a stronger bond as well.