subject: Is there a Secret to Relationship Success After Cheating? [print this page] Relationships after cheating are tricky in the beginning. You both feel that one wrong move will make the stack of cards you're working with coming tumbling down. But, until you are able to weather the instability of a couple of wrong moves your relationship will never be all it can be. So, what is the secret to relationship success after cheating and how can you make sure your struggling relationship is on the right path?
Learn the Right Moves
Believe it or not, knowing the right moves to make makes everything flow more smoothly. Think about it. As you learn more and more about how to operate a car, what to do to make the windshield wipers come on, how to adjust the volume of the radio, how to work the cruise control, and how to actually drive the car (reverse, drive, brakes, gas, etc.) the better driving works for you. You have to learn the right moves in order to make that ride smooth.
The same holds true for relationships. You have to learn how to avoid arguments, how to fight productively rather than destructively (because there will be fights no matter how much you love each other), and you need to learn how to forgive your partner and yourself when you make the wrong moves.
Remember Fun and Have it Again
Relationships take some degree of work. It's true. But, another truth is that relationships are supposed to be fun. You need to be able to laugh together, play together, and really make each other happy. Learn to look forward to seeing each other at the end of a very long day. Flirt, tease, and make sure that you make plans to feed the sense of fun in the relationship often.
It's hard to be unhappy or even think about looking elsewhere if you're both having fun in the relationship often. Make sure that you keep in mind that both of you find different things fun. Plan things you both enjoy and some things you enjoy individually on your list of fun things to do.
Make Every Moment You Spend Together Matter
This is perhaps the most important thing you can do to make your second chance so much better than the first. Cheating happens for many reasons. Some of the most common are distance, indifference, and insecurity on some level in the relationship. Don't let them creep in again and cause new problems for both of you.
Is there a Secret to Relationship Success After Cheating?