When you are really committed to your relationship, you realize that what is necessary to your individual well being is also necessary for the health of the relationship. Successful relationships consist of rational and responsible people who know that in order for their connection to work, they must put forth effort while making their partner (and the relationship) a priority. Many partnerships are repairable if both people are willing to put in their 100% (notice we didn’t say 50% -- each has to put in 100% effort).

Two things are fundamental to any mutually nurturing relationship: respect and reciprocity. Without these, the possibility of a fulfilling relationship is very slim. This statement may seem simple and obvious, but unfortunately, most relationships lack both of them.

Ask yourself some questions. Do you respect your partner? Does your partner respect you? If you had to think about either of those questions even for a split second, you have a problem. The reason it is so vital to assess the respect is because if it doesn’t exist, then it is very unlikely you will be willing to do the work it takes to improve the relationship. If you had to think about the level of respect, then invest time to detect signs of disrespect and address them. Believe it or not, most people don’t even notice.

Reciprocity is also needed in any relationship. This can be in any area: love, sex, respect, household chores, child care duties, etc. If there isn’t reciprocity, then the relationship is out of balance, which means that one of you doesn’t consider the other to be an equal partner.  Somewhere in their subconscious, they must think they are superior.

Take some time to assess the level of respect and reciprocity in your relationship and then decide to do something about it.