Rules of Life, The, 4th Edition

RULE 72

You don’t both have to have the same rules

Lots of couples make the assumption that everything has to be the same for both of them – that you have to have the same set of rules for both partners. Not true. You can operate under different rules for important areas. The happiest relationships, the most successful, the strongest, are where both parties see the need for flexibility in their rules and adjust their relationship accordingly.

I expect you want an example? Of course you do. Let’s suppose one of you is fanatically tidy and the other fanatically messy (whatever that is). Normally you would have one going on at the other all the time about how messy/tidy the other is. There would be rows and problems. That’s because you are both ...