There are different distinct types of Love a person may feel for others. It may be the emotional closeness of Storge, love for family, considered the most natural love of all; The freely chosen love between friends called Philia, the strong bond existing between people who share common interest or activity; Eros, the emotional and sexual connection for another, sense of being "in-love"; and lastly Agape, the unconditional love that brings forth caring regardless of the circumstance, the greatest love of all.
From the 20 years of my breathing living life, I safely can say I've learned a bunch of stuff about relationships and how it works. I'm not saying I'm some kind of expert on this, nor am I a psychologist, but this is solely coming from my point-of-view and from my experiences. I've only ever gone through one real long relationship, which unfortunately did not end well, but nevertheless it thought me most of what I needed to know.
1. Never settle
Going into a relationship just for the heck of it is never a good idea. If you dont feel that spark and instant connection with that person, then never mind!
Know exactly what you want in a partner, what traits and characteristics are you looking for. Do you want them funny, sweet, determined, protective etc. And equally as important is knowing your pet peeves. What certain characteristics and behavior do you find annoying. This can be in a form of personal hygiene, manners, family issues etc. Annoyance on little things build up, and before you know it, you and your connection with your partner gets affected, and the possibility of losing your love for one another will increase. Its perfectly fine to acknowledge that you have certain needs to address when it comes to having a partner. It means you respect yourself enough to know what you deserve. And as soon as you come across that man or woman, you'll be thankful you've waited this long to be with that person.
2. Acceptance of family and friends
This rule is self-explanatory. Family and friends know BEST. So if they don't think your current guy or girl is right for you, then LEAVE. The longer you stay in the relationship, the trickier it gets to juggle family, friends and your relationship. If you're into the whole "its you and me against the world, baby" then you're setting yourself up for major heartbreak. It never works out in the long run. Blood is thicker than anything else and its best you follow your family.
3. Love yourself
Before going into a relationship, you must best know how to love yourself first. How do you expect to truly love another person if you cant even learn how to love yourself. Acknowledge your strengths and accept your weaknesses. Know what you want in life and do everything you can to fulfill them. If your partner sees that you have your own life going on and you dont need to be on his/her hand and foot the whole day, he or she will give you much respect for that.
Loving yourself also means that you wont let your partner change who you are. Develop a "love me or leave me" kind of attitude. Lay your cards on the table before anything else, and make sure that he loves you for who you truly are.
4. Timing
Timing is, in fact, everything. I cannot stress enough how this factor can significantly effect the depth and direction of a relationship. If you start a relationship during a time when all you want to do is party and have a good time while your partner is looking to settle down and have a quiet life, then more or less it wont look to bright for the both of you. Or another scenario is when you've already matured a bit and know how to handle relationships and the challenges that come with it, its safe to say that the next real relationship that comes your way will be better than the last.
I've had to learn all of these the hard way, by experiencing the pain before learning the lesson. But then again, the best way to learn truly is by experiencing every little bit of it. Sharing this post will hopefully help someone else in his or her search for love. How about you, wanna share a thing or two about it?
