Do you have a supportive partner or struggle to get even the smallest amount of support when you’ve had a bad day? Being in love is one of the greatest feelings in the world. It puts a fire down in your soul and a spring in your step, but the only thing worse than being single is being with someone that makes you miserable.
While many emotions are involved in a loving relationship, there are also a lot of choices. You must support your significant other daily and be there for them when the chips are down. They always say that there’s plenty of fish in the sea if your current relationship doesn’t work out, but how do you know if the one you’re with is your forever partner?
Relationships take work, and it’s not going to be perfect overnight. What makes one couple last 25 years together while another can’t make it two? If you were to poll the people who have been in relationships for many decades, they would tell you that the easy choice is to walk away. You must stay regardless of what’s going on and work through it.
They would also tell you that it’s about so much more than love. Love is a great feeling, but it doesn’t pay the bills, ensure stability, and support you when everything seems wrong. Remember the classic Tina Turner song, “What’s Love Got to Do with It?”
As Turner said in her famous song, love is a secondhand emotion. It’s just a tiny fraction of a relationship. More than anything, you need a supportive partner that stands beside you no matter what.
Five Signs You Have a Supportive Partner
So how do you know if you have one of those relationships that will stand the test of time? Here are five signs that you have a supportive partner and a chance at making it for the long haul.
1. A Supportive Partner Will Pay Attention to Details
If they give you enough attention that they can notice the slightest changes and compliment you on them, it’s a sign that you’ve picked a winner. The little things are often the very items that matter most. Sure, new cars, large parties, and exotic vacations are nice, but having someone tell you that you’re beautiful and cater to the little details means so much more.
At the end of the day, you want someone who deeply cares for you enough to notice the tiniest changes. Plus, it would help if you had someone so in tune with you that they can tell when something is off or different.
2. A Supportive Partner Is Always 100 Percent Honest
Does your partner run to you first when they’ve made mistakes in life, or do they hide them from you? When you have that connection that the movies are about, your partner will come running to you no matter what happens. Honesty is always a vital part of any union and your ability to communicate about things.
3. A Supportive Partner Is Your Safe Place
If you’re sick, scared, sad, mad, happy, or want to run away, your partner is your refuse and the safe place to run. Do you feel better when you’re in his or her arms? Some say that the world seems right when they get to their partner.
In a committed relationship, you should want to run to them rather than from them. There’s no need to keep secrets when you have found a safe haven in your current relationship.
4. A Supportive Partner Encourages Growth
It takes a lot of strength to encourage you to reach for the stars, even if your growth means it might sacrifice time with them. When you genuinely love and support someone, you want them to grow, flourish, and be the best they can be.
Life is better when you have someone behind you cheering you on and hoping you reach every goal you set.
5. A Supportive Partner Makes Time for You
There are 168 hours in every week. The average person in America works 38.7 hours a week, according to a study. Additionally, people usually get around 49 hours of sleep.
When you subtract your work and sleep from your availability, it gives you eighty hours to complete everything else. This time must support commutes, picking up and taking children to school and sporting events, grocery shopping, meal preparation, and house cleaning.
Yet, your supportive partner still finds time for you in the mix. Even if it’s just an hour of undivided attention in the evening, they make time for you. No chaotic work schedule or pressing matter at the office could ever be more important in their eyes than you.
Signs Your Partner Is Not the Most Supportive
Now that you’ve examined what it takes to have a supportive partner, what if your relationship didn’t make the mark? Here are some signs that you have a significant other that isn’t the most supportive of you or your endeavors.
1. They Quickly Find Fault in You
They grumble and complain about what you cook for dinner or the lack of a meal because you worked late. What you do doesn’t matter; you can no longer please your partner.
2. Your Communication Is Lackluster
You don’t call or text on breaks at work anymore. You don’t communicate hardly at all. You barely see each other; when you do, it’s while watching television or in passing.
You don’t even remember how you got to this point, but you know you don’t have good communication. If you would rather tell your parents or best friend about things going on in your life, then it’s time to reevaluate things.
3. There is No Quality Time Together
Sure, your schedules are chaotic, and you barely have enough time to finish things, but there’s no sense of urgency to spend time together. Your partner is content to be two ships that pass in the night.
It may be been years since you’ve been on an actual date or spent any quality time together. You ask yourself, how did things go downhill so quickly? You should never have to beg for love and attention from your partner.
4. There Is Verbal Abuse in Your Relationship
Arguments now take a negative turn where there is name-calling, and hurtful things said. Your partner criticizes you and calls you fat, ugly, stupid, or dumb. They never seem to pass up the opportunity to put you down.
A supportive partner would never dream of calling you a name, no matter how heated the argument becomes. Be careful; toxic relationships that have verbal abuse can often escalate to become physically violent. If your partner has such contempt for you that the insults and name-calling seem to roll off the tongue, you should know that you deserve better.
5. Physical Contact Has Diminished
Intimacy has all but dwindled between the two of you. You don’t hold hands while sitting on the couch watching a movie; you don’t even get close enough in the bed to embrace. The physical contact has all but vanished, and you have no clue why he/she doesn’t want to be with you.
You may suspect another person in his or her life. As a result, you may wonder how something so right has turned into something wrong. You are like two ships that pass at night, and you get more affection from your dog or cat.
When the physical contact has all but stopped, it’s a sign that your partner is not supportive and has checked out of the relationship.
Final Thoughts on Finding a Supportive Partner
It’s challenging to navigate even the best of relationships. You both come from two different worlds, and you’re trying to merge your lives into one. However, a supportive partner will do anything to improve your life, not worse.
You have found a treasure if you find someone who notices a new outfit, encourages you to reach for the stars, and always makes time for you. Sadly, some people don’t have such a relationship with their partner. They are starved for affection or even a compliment.
Toxic relationships can destroy you emotionally. You need and deserve to be with someone with you 100 percent. While life is hectic, and there are many things that you must accomplish in a day, you still know that every break or time off from work you get will be spent with your significant other.
Love comes easily, but support takes real work. Do you and your partner have what it takes to be one of the few that make it to forever?
