Valuable Life Lessons I Learned From Being In A Relationship

What I learned over our seven years being together

I was only fifteen when I first met my (now) wife. We met on a double date, except she wasn’t precisely my date; she was with my best friend at the time. Hey, what can I say? I found an interest in her that wouldn’t go away.

It took me over a year to get her attention. You see, before meeting her, I was, what would you call it? Oh, a man-whore. I’m not ashamed to admit it because it’s true. Ask anyone. Ask everyone. I have no excuse.

I was a young, simple-minded, and extremely horny teen. I’d sneak out to meet up for “quickies.” I’d sneak girls in for “quickies.” Hell, I am Tinder. Or at least I was, before I met this beautiful, loving, inspiring, jaw-dropping woman that I’m proud to call my wife. Getting her to notice me took some work.

We’ve been together for seven years now, married this year in May, and we just had a beautiful baby girl.

Things are going splendid.

Yet, through it all, I've made some terrible mistakes, learning some profound relationship advice in the process.

I am in no way claiming to be some sort of relationship guru, but I’ve been through the mud. I’ve experienced the ups, the downs, and everything in between.

So what’s the biggest piece of advice I could give you?

Just Be Yourself

The biggest mistake I made throughout our ongoing seven-year relationship was that I stopped being myself. I tried being the person that I thought was best for her. I had to realize that she chose me, which means that, at this moment, I am the best person for her.

Yeah, I don’t have the money, the status, or the dream job, but that’s not why she chose me. She picked me because I never stop finding ways to show my love. She chose me because I will always be there for her. Okay, it could also be the looks.

Ultimately, I Had To Realize That Things Change, People Change, And In Time, We’ll Change Too.

The important thing is that you’re always communicating. Express your feelings. If you feel like things are changing, talk about it.

A few years back, my wife confessed that she felt like I was outgrowing her. I started listening to podcasts at the time, focusing on self-development and productivity. It’s also around the time when I published my first book. Looking back, I should have understood where she was coming from, but I quickly dismissed it at the time, feeling as though she was intentionally trying to hold me back. Boy, was I wrong.

Let me get one thing straight. My wife is my key to success.

What is success without someone you love to share it with?

I Had To Learn To See Things From Her Perspective, Which Was Extremely Hard For Me To Do.

I’m not saying that she was always right (the wife IS still right, just saying), but I had to learn to be more understanding of where she’s coming from.

Life is all about perspective.

Successful relationships require non-judgmental communication, the ability for both sides to evaluate the other’s perspective before jumping to conclusions clearly. It’s not easy, but it is essential for maintaining a healthy relationship.

Again, I’m not claiming to be some sort of self-help or relationship guru, however, I do my best to give real life examples and life lessons gained from personal experience.

If I Could Give One Last Piece Of Advice, It Would Be To Chase The Little Moments.

We have a lot of memories to look back on, with more coming every day. However, the best memories are the seemingly insignificant ones: late-night cooking, movie nights, picnics. Whenever I look back at the good stuff, it’s the small stuff that pops up.

Sure, we’d love to take a five day trip to Hawaii, but throughout our seven years together, we’ve learned that we don’t really need to leave the comfort of our own home to express the love that we feel (wink, wink).