Relationships and independence

One of the things to keep in mind about romantic relationships is that you can only be ready for it once you know that you can still live a good life without it. Think about this son, if you live your life feeling empty and incomplete, there is a chance that you will expect all your happiness to come from your girlfriend/fiancé/wife once you find her. Remember that I explained earlier why you shouldn’t do this.

There is a good analogy for this: Two individuals, a man and a woman, come out of a grocery store. The man bought bacon, and the woman bought eggs. If they went their separate ways, they can still go ahead and make a satisfying breakfast individually. But if they combined what they bought they’d be able to cook an even more satisfying meal. This is how you should view romantic relationships (in fact, I believe most relationships should be viewed this way!).

This is not to say that you should keep your girlfriend/fiancé/wife at arms length. Not at all! Be warm to her. Give her lots of affection. Regularly show her how much you love her. This is the beauty of learning how to be independent: once you know that you can live a good life by yourself, you are no longer afraid to share it with someone else.