Worst Relationship Mistakes

When you think about the worst relationship mistakes, it may bring to mind subjects like infidelity, lying, and other serious issues. However, there are other relationship mistakes which can be equally destructive, although they are not as obvious to many people. It is a good idea to keep them in mind, because they have the potential to ruin a relationship.
One of the worst relationship mistakes which, unfortunately, is quite popular today, is believing that one should be a completely open book to one’s partner or prospective partner. While being honest to one’s partner is positive, some people fail to realize that honesty does not mean giving their partners every single detail of their lives. Although this can create unnecessary jealousy and resentment, it can go even further. People who develop this habit fail to realize that people are intended to have some degree of privacy. This includes certain experiences from one’s past and personal life, as well as thoughts and feelings. While people who make this mistake often believe that it encourages communication, it usually backfires. “Telling all,” and prodding one’s partner to do the same, strips away the essential sense of privacy which every person needs for himself or herself.

Another destructive relationship mistake covers those who are not familiar enough with the concept of a “personal life.” In order for a relationship to be strong and healthy, it is essential to not “invite” other people into it. Unfortunately, many people do not understand that by sharing personal details about their relationships with their friends or family members they are actually weakening the relationship.

These days, more and more people who enter the dating scene or begin relationships have children. This fact brings with it some very serious relationship mistakes. It cannot be stressed too strongly that if you have children, regardless of their ages, they should not be included in your dating or casual relationships. Unless you the other person have made a permanent commitment to each other, you should consider it to be your social life in which your children are not included. Not only is it one of the worst relationship mistakes, it is also one of the most serious, because children should not be in the position of bonding to those who will not be a permanent part of their lives. In addition, as dating or a casual relationship is meant to be about the two people involved, allowing your children to participate can put your children in danger from unscrupulous individuals who are more interested in your children than in you.

There are other mistakes which can take place early in a relationship. Some of these include beginning a relationship with someone who has numerous characteristics which you find unacceptable, with the belief or hope that you can “change” the person; ignoring “red flags,” such as a person’s history of substance dependency, abusive treatment of former partners or children; and failing to find out at the beginning whether the person is looking for casual dating experiences or a long-term relationship.

The relationship that will work is the one where both individuals have similar values, standards, and goals. If you find that the person you are considering does not have these points in common with you, one of the worst relationship mistakes is to assume that they do not matter. They are the foundation on which a successful relationship is built.