Never Listen to this Bad Relationship Advice

You are surrounded by bad relationship advice. We all are. It’s unavoidable. If there’s anything people love to make recommendations for – even more than how to get over a cold – it’s how to improve your relationship. That would be wonderful if everybody was always right. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

We’re constantly being inundated by bad relationship advice. Some of it is easy to spot. However, much of it is surprisingly convincing. It sounds as though it should be correct, even when it’s not.

Watch Out for This Bad Relationship Advice and Never Follow It!

“Happy Wife, Happy Life”

Did you just cringe? Did your lip just curl? Good! Trust that instinct. Just because this phrase rhymes and is repeated ad nauseam, it doesn’t mean that it’s accurate. At best, this is condescending and unhelpful. Nothing good results when one partner thinks the other should always be happy regardless of what the other one wants.

For one thing, no self-respecting woman should think that she needs her partner to do everything she says or she’ll make life completely miserable. For another, nobody should want to be in a relationship in which their priorities come in second.

Indeed, there will be times when compromise is needed, or when one partner’s preferences will be agreed upon even if they’re not the same as the other’s (often as a part of a recognition that the other person will benefit similarly in the near future). However, there should be a balance. The goal is to make sure that both people are happy as frequently as possible.

Never Go to Bed Angry

This bad relationship advice is often shared at weddings, it’s on decorative artwork and can even be found in relationship books – old relationship books. That’s just the problem. This attitude is out of date.

It sounds as though this makes sense. The idea behind this bad relationship advice is that if you have an argument and go to bed angry, the thoughts and feelings will fester and start the next day badly. This will only set you both up for another day resenting each other, suffering bad moods and leaving problems unresolved. That said, have you also heard expressions such as “sleep on it” or “time heals all wounds”?

Many couples find that ignoring that bad relationship advice in favor of agreeing to halt an argument and get a good sleep is a better move. That way, they can calm down, get some rest so they’re not reacting based on being sleep deprived, and give their minds time to think on it. They likely won’t feel as volatile by the next day and may be more open to compromise than they would by remaining in the heat of the moment.