25 Essential Rules for a Successful Relationship

Engaging yourself in a relationship is probably the most complicated yet straightforward thing if you are willing to follow some unwritten essential relationship rules.

As said, humans cannot thrive in the solitude of mind, emotions, body, and spirit. We must engage ourselves in relationships from time to time. It might be a casual relationship or a relationship that involves deep romantic love and affection for each other.

Love is the most studied, and it is still the most confusing kind of relationship ever.

However, one crucial thing that scientists have done is to provide helpful tips, guidelines, and rules of a relationship, backed by scientific studies, to improve our chances of finding true love and building strong and lasting relationships.

Below are some handy relationship guidelines and healthy relationship rules for couples to build healthy, secure, and lasting relationships.

What do you call relationship rules?

While there is no official rule book created for relationships, after you get into one, some regulations need to be there. There are some unsaid hard and fast rules that help you achieve the vision of a relationship. Most relationships fall apart when no rules and responsibilities are attached to them. 

However, it’s essential to have some basic rules for a healthy and fulfilling relationship. A basic set of regulations that maintains a fruitful alliance between a couple, if followed religiously, can be stated as relationship rules.

Read more to know the ground rules for relationships and how it can help you keep a healthy relationship.

25 Essential rules for a successful relationship 

Below are some of the relationship rules for couples to help you save your relationship from future issues.

1. Make the right decision

It’s easy to get attracted to someone and confuse infatuation with love. Most millennials make this mistake and often hurry to get into a relationship. The result: many misunderstandings and fights, and eventually break up.

All of these can be avoided if you are cautious while choosing your partner. Your life will take a whole new turn once you’ve expressed your love to someone and are in a relationship.

Take time while doing so. Be sure of your feelings and make the right decision.

2. Don’t mix up sex and love

Sex is a physical need, whereas love is an emotional need.

Often, when our hormones take over, we confuse sex and love. Being in a relationship states that one must not confuse love and sex.

Love is to get intimate with your partner and spend some quality time doing activities you both enjoy. When you change this with sex, you will disrespect the individual, which will sabotage your relationship with them.

So, rules never get confused with love and sex in a relationship.

3. Express the love for your partner physically

To intensify the affection and love for each other in a relationship, you have to show it physically. It might be a mere kiss, hug, and peck on the cheeks.

The expressions don’t have to be gushy and elaborate at all. Similarly, having more romantic sex is often a positive expression of love’s intensity in secure and long-term relationships.

Related Reading: 30 Romantic Ways To Express Your Love Through Words & Actions

4. Communicate with your partner effectively

Regular and effective communication is a vital component of the relationship rules that determine any relationship’s quality. 

Communicate with each other effectively and grow together in love. The most effective and efficient way to communicate in a relationship is to talk face-to-face.

If your partner is not physically around, you always keep in touch with them. This might be through social media like Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

But we should keep in mind that calling, texting, Skyping, and the likes are sufficient, but communicating through electronic means does not provide relationship satisfaction as much as face-to-face communication.

Watch this video to understand why and how miscommunication happens and how you can avoid it:

Also Try: Quiz: What’s the Satisfaction Level in Your Relationship?

5. Do not cheat

What is most important in a set of relationship rules? It is trust!

And it is one of the unwritten and not to be broken committed relationship rules.

Although it is in the natural composition of humans to be attracted to more than one person, this does not warrant you to cheat on your partner. Even if you are bored with the relationship, spark it up or walk out of it.

It would help if you did not cheat on your partner because they are not fun to be with, or you do not enjoy their company anymore. Please tell your partner clearly that you’re not happy with how things are between you, sort it out, or walk out of the relationship.

6. Pamper each other

If you are looking for relationship rules or tips for a perfect relationship, a critical tip is never to forget to pamper each other.

You have to take care of each other if you don’t want others to care for your partner on your behalf. If you are not there for someone, there are chances someone else will be there for them.

So, either take care and pamper your partner or don’t get offended later if someone replaces you in their life. It can be through buying unexpected gifts for your partner, opening and holding the door for her, and helping them financially.

7. Try to be by their side

As per the healthy relationship guidelines and rules, any tedious job can be a fun activity with your partner.

So, whenever possible, try to be by your partner’s side while doing boring jobs. You never know when this tedious job gets converted into some naughty and exciting activity.

Related Reading: 20 Steps to Becoming a Supportive Partner

8. Be yourself

Being your honest self in the relationship can only strengthen it. Like you love your partner with all their perfections and faults, they would love you too. Do not tell them that you like everything. They like to bond with them. Be yourself, and you’ll see how you can just as quickly bond over your differences.

9. Learn to give space to each other

Even the closest of relationships need some elbow room to miss each other from time to time.

No matter how much you adore and love each other, every couple needs a little alone time.

Giving your partner less space and smothering them is just as bad as giving them too much space and coming across as distant. In order words, give your partner the space they deserve.

Related Reading: Let There Be Some Space in Your Relationship

10. Spare some time for yourself

You don’t have to give up on your’ me’ time while in a relationship.

If you don’t stay happy in your relationship, you can’t make your partner happy. So, for a happy and healthy relationship, make sure you spend some time just for yourself. Indulge yourself in whatever you like, reading, watching a TV show, or playing a game.

So, one of the rules for a healthy relationship is not to lose yourself in a relationship

11. Let your partner go out with their friends

Don’t get insecure or judgmental when your partner is socializing with their friends. Your partner doesn’t have to necessarily stick around you or include you to prove their love and affection for you.

Instead, you can show your graciousness by hosting a lunch event, a soccer date, or anything for your partner and friends. Your partner will be amazed, and you might get heavily rewarded later in the best possible way!

12. Respect each other

This is one of the rules for your boyfriend. As it’s clear that men are not good at keeping the house clean, likewise women are not good at certain things. The relationship is not about making each other perfectly, but the relationship rules state it’s about respecting each other.

Related Reading: 10 Reasons Why Respect Is Important in a Relationship

13. Discuss finances

This is one of the golden relationship rules. It is crucial to discuss the funds for a happy and long-lasting relationship.

Money is one of the significant contributors to relationship problems. Everyone has different spending habits, and while in a relationship, both the partners need to be aligned with each other’s thoughts regarding money for the smooth functioning of the family.

Related Reading: How to Handle Finances Together and Improve Relationship

14. Never shy away from positive criticism

Don’t try to sugarcoat things in a relationship. Tell them if you don’t like whatever your partner is doing in the relationship. Relationships are meant to be enjoyed, not endured.

Don’t bottle up your disgust or hate for what your partner is doing. As long as you say it constructively, it’ll help you and your partner become better people.

15. See the good in your partner

Although the previous rule for a good relationship must have been easy to digest, this critical relationship rule or tip needs to be assimilated and brought into practice.

It is certainly not an easy task to see the good in some person if you are pissed off with them. It is a daunting task to shift your attention from their drawbacks to the good in them.

But, if you are looking forward to a long-term relationship, you must focus on your partner’s attributes. Also, it is these attributes for which you must have fallen in love with them in the very first place.

16. Appreciate each other

If you successfully implement the previous one, it shouldn’t cost you much of a deal to follow this relationship ground rule.

Appreciating or complimenting each other is one of the best ways to thank a special someone for the effort they have made for you, for being there for you, and, most of all, for loving you. No matter how small it may be. It can be a form of sweet words or giving each other gifts.

Do not look for significant opportunities or wait for outstanding accomplishments by your partner to compliment them. Your appreciation showcases your fondness towards them, and it can be shown in the smallest of the small gestures, like how they make coffee for you.

17. Don’t ruminate over the past issues

Everyone has a past, and nobody has a past like a clean slate. There would be a lot of unpleasant blotches that need not be unveiled now and then.

It is good to dig up the bad past for a blissful present and a better future.

So, make sure that if your partner has trusted you with their unpleasant past issues, do not bring them to the surface and use them against them for your selfish reasons. This is a strict no! And totally against the ground rules for relationships.

18. Don’t argue in the public

Don’t try to belittle your partner in public; don’t prove them wrong in front of others. Always support your partner in public, no matter what. 

Don’t try to make your partner feel bad or look bad in public.

If your partner says the earth is flat, don’t argue with him in public, but when you get home or somewhere private, you can now explain and tell them they were wrong. Respect your partner wholeheartedly.

19. Gulp your anger with a glass of water

This is one of the essential rules for a successful relationship that you must not ignore.

It is effortless to shoot unpleasantries during an argument or a fight when you are in the worst mood. It is easy to indulge in a blame game and come up with all possible trash words.

Although you might feel relieved having said so at that moment, later, this uncalculated reaction can cost you heavily in terms of your relationship. Unpleasant words can scar the recipient for life and, in extreme cases, can even lead to a break-up.

So, grab a glass of water and gulp your anger before proceeding with a conversation with your partner.

Related Reading: 5 Valuable Tips on Managing Anger in Relationships

20. Don’t shy away from saying sorry

One of the inescapable rules of being in a relationship is getting over your fallacy and accepting your own mistakes.

It’s easy to point out fingers and count your partner’s drawbacks or wrongdoings. But, you, too, are not a god or google never to err.

So, do not hesitate and say sorry whenever you feel you knowingly or inadvertently done wrong or hurt your partner. If you have issues with saying it verbally, you can leave a sorry not or bake them a ‘sorry cake.’

Related Reading: Three Powerful Words, “I Am Sorry”

21. Accept your partner’s apology too

If you feel that your partner should accept you with open arms when you say sorry, so should you!

One of the not to be missed relationship rules is not to let your ego creep in and ruin your relationship. If your partner has done something to hurt you, but they are trying to apologize to you somehow, accept it gracefully.

22. Sugarcoat your complaint with a compliment

It isn’t that the rules for a happy relationship can’t be molded.

For example, if positive criticism is not working in your favor and your partner is getting disgusted with your constant criticism, however, constructively, you do it, chuck it. Try the new relationship rules in this case.

Compliment your partner for the things they do good to pep them up, and then slide a complaint tactfully such that the message gets conveyed and they don’t get irritated with you.

23. Use a good amount of humor in the conversations

Make humor a part of your day-to-day conversations. Humor can keep your heart and your relationship with your partner healthy.

Try to use humor even in unpleasant situations because there is no better way than laughing your pains away. Humor can lighten the tense moments and help you get back to normalcy with less effort.

24. Focus on your physical intimacy

While setting ground rules in a relationship, it is imperative to focus on physical intimacy.

Sex plays a significant role in keeping the spark alive in your relationship. Physical closeness helps bring two people closer and make them more than just friends. Also, physical intimacy can help considerably in boosting your emotional intimacy. Here are a few dos and don’ts to follow for the same:

25. Be innovative in bed

Please don’t go the conventional way while making it out with your partner. Otherwise, the most exciting part of your relationship can turn into the most boring one.

This is one of the unconventional relationship rules, but try out 

different poses, be creative, and talk to your partner about how they like it to retain the excitement in a relationship.

• Don’t fake your orgasms

Another important relationship rule- is if you are not happy with how things proceed and end up in your bed, don’t fake your orgasm, as it is of no help in a long-term relationship.

It is always better to be vocal about how you like things to be. Just as your partner is a cornerstone of your relationship, so are you. For the relationship to not crumble, it is essential to take care of your desires and wishes.

• Don’t forget to kiss and hug

Intimacy is not always about sex. Small pecks on the cheeks or lips and warm hugs can wonder for your relationship.

A warm hug can revitalize you after a hard day at work. Kisses can add the needed spice during your piquant conversations.

How do you set relationship rules?

For every relationship, boundaries are important. Every relationship is different, so there is no definite rulebook for relationships, but despite that fact, everyone should set up relationship rules initially to avoid falling apart. 

You can set these boundaries or rules according to your and your partner’s comfort. Express what you feel at the beginning of the relationship. 

When you feel invested enough to feel bad if this relationship falls apart, you need to sit and set some ground rules for your relationship. You can tell them about your deal breakers and ask them about theirs. 

You may need to be flexible while setting up these rules, as these would be based on you and your partner’s specific needs and wants. 

 You can choose from the rules mentioned above or take inspiration and customize it according to your partner’s preference. 

Conclusion

These are the 25 essential relationship rules that cover all the aspects of your relationship. If you follow these relationship rules religiously, you can bring back the lost charm and rejuvenate your bond.

If you think that your relationship has reached its nadir and that the relationship rules are not helping, it is better to seek professional advice.

You can look for good therapists and relationship counselors who can help you deal with your problems and revive your relationship.