It’s something of a cliché that relationships are about making compromises and sacrifices. When two people get together and try to build a stable relationship, they need to find common ground, change some parts of their everyday routine and adopt some new habits. However, how far should you go as you make these changes? AnastasiaDate is here to help you decide on the things you need to keep.

AnastasiaDate Explains Why A Relationship Shouldn’t Be A Bulldozer

While you should be willing to make some alterations to your life, it is crucial to also be able to keep some parts of it as they are, or at least close to that they are. These are the main things to maintain.

Your Circle Of Friends And Family

Even though you won’t have as much time for them as you did as a singleton, your loved ones should not be neglected when you enter a relationship. If your girlfriend loves you, she should at least make an effort to like them too, and this means that she should be willing to spend time with them from time to time, not judge them or bad mouth them to you, or at least accept that you need to spend some time with them. Even if your relationship ends, your friends and family will always be there for you, through thick and thin; and that’s something you should honor whether in or out of a relationship.

Your Dreams And Life Goals

You may make some small alterations to the way you reach your life goals when you become part of a relationship, but you should never lose focus. The dreams you have are what motivates you in life, and if your partner can’t share them, maybe you should change your partner, but not your dreams. People who give up their dream and aspirations just to be part of a relationship usually end up bitter and resentful, and that’s no way to live life.

The Things That Make You Special

Nobody is perfect, but we are all unique and loved for it. How do the people around you describe you? Do they say you are funny and spontaneous? Do they find your political savviness interesting and laudable? Keep these characteristics, because they are what drew people to you in the first place. If your partner is irritated by your desire to make others laugh, or if she finds your political comments boring, that’s ultimately her problem. We’re not saying you shouldn’t mature and improve as part of a relationship, but it should be your decision, nobody else’s.

The Things You Love Doing

If you are passionate about something, from watching films to volunteering at the local dog shelter to sweating it out at the gym, you shouldn’t sacrifice these things for a relationship. If your partner is interested in the same things, that’s fantastic. If she can’t follow, she should pursue her own passions and allow you to do your thing. Hobbies are very important things for our lives because they fuel us and give us satisfaction and self-esteem.

Your Values

Sometimes we share the same values as our partners, while other times we may be completely different. For example, you may be religious and she may be an atheist. In such cases, each partner should be allowed to be who they are and believe whatever he/she wants without trying to change his/her partner. But in more hardcore cases, when one of you is racist, for example, it may be harder to coexist and have respect for one another. In the latter case,  we, at AnastasiaDate, believe that there’s no use trying to make your relationship work, as a difference in core values will be the cause of constant arguing, and end up making you both miserable.

In an ideal world, we’d be able to accept our partners for exactly who they are, while we’d be able to continue leading the same kind of life as we did before we met them. However, our world is not ideal, so we need to stand our ground from the beginning, making our intentions and preferences clear. At AnastasiaDate, we believe that a happy relationship is only possible when both partners are balanced and happy individuals.