Here are some myths being perpetuated in our society that stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of what a relationship really is. Unfortunately, people may have had these experiences more than once, and begin to generalize as well as begin to express their opinions as overall fact.
You think everybody cheats.
This
one is pretty basic. Kind of like “Why relationships suck 101.” Men cheat,
women cheat, or maybe you cheat, and you can
only assume that everyone else acts the way that you do. Maybe this has even
happened to you more than once.
The
truth is…hear me out here…not everybody cheats. There are people out
there who possess the self control to understand that a loving, healthy relationship
will bring more satisfaction than a temporary physical act. Typically, we call
these people “mature, respectable adults” and if you only commit yourself to
one of them, you may have a more positive experience.
You see your friends unhappy.
Maybe
you’re single but your friends are in relationships. Maybe they don’t make the
best choices when it comes to partners, and they are, overall, unsatisfied.
It’s only natural that this will affect your perception of what is normal for
our generation, but you are not them, and their circumstances aren’t your
circumstances.
If
we just take the time to listen, observe, and learn from other peoples’
experiences, we can make better decisions when it comes to our own. You do not
have to be a victim of circumstance; you can create your own.
You think you’ll be held back in life.
You
do not have to choose success or a relationship, all you need
is to find someone who will support and encourage you along your journey.
People, in general, can be lazy and unmotivated. They fall into routines and
their happiness or self-motivation dwindles and this negativity can be
contagious, especially in a relationship.
It’s
difficult to plan a future with someone who doesn’t have any plans for their
own future. This is what makes it so important to really get to know someone as
well as their hopes, dreams, and ambitions, before you commit to them.
The right
person will be your support system, and never discourage you.
You think you’ll have to give up your friends.
Why
is it that so many people feel as though if you’ve got a girlfriend or a
boyfriend, you can no longer communicate with members of the opposite sex?
This, to me, is a serious trust issue and is a red flag right off the bat. When
it is understood that you are two individual people with two individual lives
that existed before you knew each other, it makes life much easier.
When
you’re happy with someone, wouldn’t you rather introduce them to everyone and
become part of each others’ lives, rather than cutting everyone else out?
You’ve had multiple relationships with the same person.
Have
you ever seen a fly that keeps flying into a glass door when there is an open
window on another wall, but they never seem to notice it? They just continue to
fly into that closed window and when you’re watching, it’s obvious they’ll
never get through. You just want to redirect them over to the open window –
this is how some people treat relationships.
If
you continue to go back to the same person over and over and over again, you
are the fly trying to get out of the
door. It’s only natural that you’ll think that every other door or window will
be closed too, but sometimes, you’ve got to stop and look around the room.
You’ve been fishing in the same pond.
Perhaps
worse than catching the same fish only to throw them back and catch them again,
is to continue catching multiple different fish of the same kind.
Many
of us tend to stay in the same circles. We often go to the same places on the
weekends or fall into a routine that limits how many new people we meet.
Similar to the fly in the previous example, this is a situation of how we
represent the world to ourselves. We find only what we choose to focus on, and
much will be illuminated if we step outside of our comfort zone and surround
ourselves with different types of people.
You think all relationships end anyway, so why bother?
There
are two sides to this coin. First, yes – most relationships do end, but, not
all of them. Am I saying that you’ll be one of the lucky ones who end up in a
Notebook-esque marriage with a white picket fence, a dog, and 2.5 kids? Of
course not! But, to prevent yourself from having a positive experience before
it even begins will do more harm than good.
Secondly,
why bother? Sure, relationships end, but so do movies. So do books. So do nice
dinners. But we still give our time, effort, and money to experience these
things, because it’s the experiences along the way that make life beautiful.
Why
bother? Because each person who enters our lives helps us grow into the person
we will become.
What
do all of these points have in common? The inherent negativity does not come
from the fact that you were in a relationship, but from the person who you were
with.
We
have all had bad (learning) experiences along the way, but it’s important that
we don’t let them contaminate our future.
The
next person you bump into when walking around the corner has a completely
different genetic makeup, experiential background, family upbringing, and
outlook on life than the last person you broke up with.
The
question we each have to ask ourselves when meeting someone new is: Am I going to let this
person take the blame for the actions of someone they’ve never met, or am I
going to explore the entire new world of experiences that they can show me?
The
answer is up to you.
Written by James Michael Sama
Your views are most welcome...
No comments:
Post a Comment