One mistake I see over and over again is that of people compromising their values. Sometimes we may ignore one of our values simply to please our lover. This is not OK. Relationships are built on trust, acceptance, appreciation, love, and honesty. You just can’t afford to be anything other than who you really are in a relationship. Being true to yourself first is very important. There are many people out there who are not being honest, faking relationship after relationship and wondering why they leave a string of bad relationships wherever they go.
Committing to being genuine and true to your values is the key here. Don’t let your lover compromise your values. Values are certain principles by which we live. We may have learned these values as children or developed some of our values as we grew older. We raise our children according to our values. So it’s equally important to stick to ours. It may have a value that does not approve of sex before marriage. The love of your life arrives and he or she may insist that your worth is not important to them, therefore it shouldn’t be to you. Wrong. Your values are extremely important and it is very important to stay true to them. If you believe that couples should refrain from sexual intimacy until they are married, then it is important that you stand your ground. If you give up and let your partner get away with it, you will regret it. I made this mistake and I still regret it to this day.
Relationships are based on acceptance of the values of others. You shouldn’t even try to convince someone that your value is wrong. There’s nothing wrong with expressing your values to your partner, but convincing them to change theirs when they don’t agree with you isn’t okay. Compromising on your most important values will lose you in two ways. Your relationship will not survive due to resentment and you will be filled with regret for giving up your values.
Copyright © 2007 Janelle Coulton
