Diving into the world of relationships advice feels a bit like taking a plunge into a pool of half-baked ideas, often handed out by people who confuse their lucky hits with universal truths. Trust me, in the year 2024, the stream of weird, wacky, and downright eye-roll-inducing advice seems never-ending, even with the Internet at our fingertips. From my own whirlwind of personal relationships, I’ve learned that not all advice is created equal—some are best left on read (or unclicked).
I remember once a well-meaning friend advised me to "always play hard to get." Apparently, letting your prospective partner chase effortlessly was the key to a lasting bond. Well, let me tell you, going all Hercules in the pursuit doesn't guarantee you a shot at true love. We will dive more into this under the hilariously titled section Playing Hard to Get Is a Sure Thing, where we'll dissect why this strategy usually backfires.
The clichés-trussed advice urging you to "never go to bed angry" is another classic. Picture this: my partner and I once stayed up until the crack of dawn trying to iron out the intricate details of a tiny spat. The result? A pair of sulky zombies trudging through work the next day. Trust me, there's a time to say "let's sleep on it" and revisit with fresh minds. Of course, this sterling nugget of alleged wisdom is unpacked further in Never Go to Bed Angry.
It's not like our social media hasn't peppered us with enough relationship myths already. I stumbled upon a gem suggesting you should "always be available for your partner." As much as I cherish my significant other, having zero personal space would likely drive me (and them) batty in no time. We do a deeper dive into why suffocating your partner isn’t the ticket to couple's nirvana under the section Always Being Available.
Incredibly, some misguided advice even suggests that you must "always split everything 50/50." If you’ve ever tried this in a modern relationship, you know it’s a head-scratcher. My partner and I once attempted this "fair" system down to the literal penny, only to wind up with a tiresome tally and zero spontaneity. We unravel the pitfalls of this myth under Splitting Everything 50/50.
So, come along as we step through this minefield of dubious dos and bewildering don'ts. In the following sections, we’ll have a good laugh and perhaps a sigh of relief as we debunk these ridiculous pieces of relationship advice—advice you should unquestionably, unapologetically, and delightfully ignore.
1 Be Completely Honest
Honesty is the best policy, but not if it’s brutal. You have to be careful here. You want to tell your partner the truth but it’s best to filter your words to make sure they’re kind. You don’t have to say every thought you think. Make it your goal to share things that are helpful, not hurtful.
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2 Problems Will Work out in Their Own Time
It’s true that time can help with certain situations. But you shouldn’t rely solely on that to work problems out. You need to deal with whatever situations arise. That usually means talking about the issue and sharing your feelings. You may have to try to find a compromise. The one thing you don’t want to do is ignore a problem and hope it will go away.
3 Don’t Have Any Secrets
You may have heard that the best relationships don’t have secrets. I beg to differ! While it’s great if you have an awesome connection and can talk about anything, you need to keep some things private. Let there be a little mystery in your relationship. It keeps your romance hot!
4 Work Every Issue out Immediately
I used to stress myself out over this every time my husband and I had a disagreement. I felt like it was the end of the world if we didn’t solve it immediately. But now, with more experience on my side, I realize that sometimes the best thing to do is give each other time and space. It allows you both to think things over and then you’ll be more ready to work things out. You’ll also be much calmer than if you push to work things out in the middle of an argument.
5 Your Partner Should Completely “Get You”
My husband knows me. He understands a lot of what makes me tick and what my opinions are on a variety of issues. But does he completely “get me”? Nope. He doesn’t understand why I need 17 lipsticks in different shades of pink or agree with my devotion to taking a daily vitamin. But that’s okay and it’s okay if your guy doesn’t understand every little thing about you.
6 Having a Baby Will Fix Your Relationship
Girls, listen to me closely on this point! Babies are wonderful, precious blessingss that can make your life have a deeper meaning and can help you love each other in new ways. But it doesn’t come without it’s own set of stress that’s actually harder on your relationship. This’s especially true if you aren’t ready to have a baby. Make sure you’re both ready to put away your youth and are financially secure before you consider becoming parents.
7 Love is All You Need to Make It Work
Unfortunately, love isn’t all you need. You also need communication, devotion, faithfulness, compassion and kindness, just to name a few attributes. Relationships take work on both parts. If you want your relationship to be successful then you have to make it a priority and give it the attention it needs.
These’re 7 pieces of relationship advice you should always ignore. Have you heard any of these statements? What advice do you choose to ignore?
