Love SomeOne "Different" Than You? Is It Worth It?
By Wendy Kay. Posted on .
Another challenge you may encounter is that others sometimes feel they have the right to force their opinions, disapprovals and sometimes aggressions onto your relationship. It could be family and/or “friends” that have some “wisdom” to share about your choices and how it will affect you. But what they really mean is how they think it will affect them. People you work with may decide to have a reaction to you and your partner’s age or race differences. Sometimes total strangers will even get in your face. People can be very judgmental. It’s unfortunately prevalent throughout most cultures to be judgmental of another culture’s differences – again, from age differences to ethnicity.
Challenges Summarized:
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- There are differences of two minds working within any relationship.
- Then any cultural differences brought in with age, race, religion/spiritual beliefs, and socioeconomic factors influencing thoughts, feelings and actions of both partners.
- In addition to those, perhaps outside forces of negative spewing and/or doing may appear and add a burden to your relationship, regardless of your choice to act on or ignore it.
The Question: IS IT WORTH IT?
Answer: It is whatever you say it is!
FACT: Your relationship is what you and your partner make of it – bottom line. None of these other things have detrimental power or influence unless you allow them to. Good relationships are built on honesty, mutual respect, and compromise through love and effective communication.
The moral of this (my) story is that if you want a good and lasting relationship, no matter any cultural differences, be honest about the challenges and then be true to you. Be loving and respectful of yourself and your partner. Find ways to compromise with each other without compromising who you are. Be committed to growth in yourself and that of the ever-evolving relationship with your life partner. Never consider conforming to someone else’s idea of how you “should” be living your life. Do this, and you’ll live happily ever after together.
For more help finding your own direction, or simply adding more joy to your life experience, I invite you to contact me through my website for Life Coaching services or to check out my new book, Mastering the Art of Feeling Good.
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