Sacrifices You Should Never Be Obligated To Make In A Relationship
Compromising in a relationship should never mean you have to constantly sacrifice your own needs or wants just to prioritize someone else's.
No one plans to get into a relationship where they're unhappy, but that doesn't mean it won't happen. A relationship takes hard work, and both people have to be willing to make compromises in order to make their partnership work—but you shouldn't have to be making sacrifices.
Not Being An Equal In Your Own Relationship
It's called a partnership for a reason. There are two people in a relationship, and both of those people need to be heard. You can't be in a healthy relationship if it comes down to one person making all the major decisions.
Compromising Your Morals
Your personal morals are something you should never compromise on, and you know that, but it's easier said than done sometimes. It can start with little changes or situations where you go along with it only to realize later that what you thought you valued doesn't seem to matter to your partner.
Pretending To Feel Something You Don't
Feelings change, and sometimes they're not going to change in the way you'd expect. During a relationship, both people are going to grow and change the longer they're together, but that doesn't always mean they're going to grow together.
Don't feel guilty for not having the same feelings as your partner anymore, and don't pretend that you do.
Ruining Your Finances
Finances can be a huge stressor on your relationship if one person shoulders more of the financial weight than the other. One person in a relationship shouldn't be relying on the other to exclusively pay the rent or all of the big expenses on their own.
Abandoning Your Dreams
Whether you've always dreamed of living abroad or you've decided to go back to school to change your career to something you love, your dreams matter just as much as your partner's. You shouldn't be made to sacrifice those dreams or goals simply because someone else doesn't agree with them.
Staying Out Of Convenience
Just because you've been in a relationship for a long time doesn't mean that it's the right relationship or that it's always going to be right for you.
Things change over time, and even though it might be a difficult decision to make, if you're not getting what you need out of your relationship, you shouldn't stay in it simply because you've committed time to it.
Losing Respect For Yourself
You'll know when it's time to walk away from a relationship, even if you're not ready to admit it. It might take some time before you're willing to actually do something about it, but if it gets to the point where you're disappointed with yourself, it's hard to come back from.
Changing Your Personality
One of the most obvious, surefire ways to choose a partner is to pick someone that has a similar personality to you or who complements your personality, but not someone who makes you change yours to fit theirs.
Your Sense Of Adventure
Some people have no interest in traveling or exploring the world around them, but if you do, then you need to find yourself a partner who also shares that same passion. Otherwise, you'll end up bored.
Missing Out On Time With Your Family
If you're close with your family, then it would probably take a lot for you to separate yourself from them or cut them out of your life, so don't let someone convince you of that.
Pretending To Be Fine With Certain Behaviors
This can be a tricky one, especially when you're navigating a new relationship. You want to be the chill, fun person who is cool with whatever their partner is doing, but if you have a problem with how much she smokes or how much he drinks, it's not going to go away the longer you're together.
Your Goals For Your Relationships
By this, we mean things like getting married, how many children you want to have, etc. Decisions like that have to be made with your partner, and if you can't agree on things like whether or not you want to have children, one person in the relationship can't be the one making that decision.
Not Making Your Mental Health A Priority
You spend so much time taking care of your partner and making sure that they're taking care of themselves that you've forgotten to check in and make sure that you're also okay.
Making your partner happy is important, but you can't do that if you're not taking care of your own mental health.
Isolating Yourself From Friends
Your partner doesn't need to become best friends with every single one of your friends, but if your girlfriend refuses to spend time with any of your friends, or if your boyfriend makes you cut off certain friends he doesn't like, you're going to end up lonely.
Letting Their Needs Overshadow Yours
There are going to be times in every relationship where one person is going to rely on the other more for support, but that can't be your entire relationship. Your needs matter just as much as your partner's, and you're the only one who's going to fight for that.
Putting Yourself In Unsafe Situations
Your boyfriend is supposed to be the one person you feel safe with, especially if he's someone you're looking at building your life with. If they're putting you in situations that you don't feel safe in, how can you move forward from that?
Sacrificing Your Career
Your career is something you've put a lot of work into. You've done the low-paying internships, you've got the degree you needed, maybe you moved across the country for that perfect job you've always wanted. You shouldn't be forced to alter your career or put it on your hold because your partner says so. That's a decision that has to be made together, if at all.
Putting Your Education On Hold
If you choose to take a semester off in order to take a mental break or work a little extra while paying for education, that's your choice, but no partner should ever make you sacrifice your education.
Giving Up Your Hobbies
Hobbies don't need to be a shared activity, as long as it makes you happy. If the person you're in a relationship with isn't okay with one of your hobbies or tries to prevent you from doing them for whatever reason, that's not worth it.
Your Overall Happiness
No matter how dreamy he is, you can't be in a relationship where you're forced to sacrifice your own happiness in order to prioritize someone else's. Yours matters just as much.
