Rules of Life, The, 4th Edition

RULE 61

You want to do what?

Just because we come together to be a couple for however long, doesn’t mean we are joined at the hip and have to think the same, do the same, feel the same, react the same. I have noticed that the most successful relationships are the ones where the couple is strong together but also strong apart. The best relationships are the ones where both people are supportive of each other’s interest even if they aren’t their own.

Being supportive of your partner and what they want to do means you have to be very centred yourself not to feel jealous or mistrustful or resentful. You have to be prepared for them to be independent, strong, out in the world separate from you. It can be hard. It can ask a lot of you. It can be ...