Lifestyle:3 relationship traits that grow in importance as they years pass

With time you’ll come to appreciate some things more in your partner than you do now.

That’s because as you grow, there is a big possibility that your outlook on life changes. You’ll drop some habits in the process, and you’ll also come to appreciate some more than you once did.

These are the habits you’ll value more in a partner as you grow…

1. Patience

Love by its nature is patient and gentle, and long after the novelty of sex wears off, this is something that partners will still need in order to keep their relationship or marriage going.

You’ll need to be patient with your partner while they learn all about you and get used to the things you like and don’t like. Also, it is patience that’ll be required to make necessary changes and transitions at every new phase a partner attains.

You will change, too. And your outlook on life will likely take a new direction at some point. Having a partner who is patient and understanding enough for you to go through all of this without disrupting the flow of your greatness… you will be grateful for it.

LoveYou will be grateful for your partner’s patience with the passage of time. (The Love Lint)

2. Compassion

Being kind and compassionate may not rank high on the list of the things you desire in a partner right now but it will. Just give it time.

As the years roll by and life takes form, you will see clearer the blessedness of being with a man or woman who is kind enough to hold you down, to care about all that concerns you, and to make sacrifices even when they do not have to.

What to do when you're not really drawn to himYou have no idea how grateful you will be few years from now when other people are dropping out of their relationships but your partner remains committed to making yours work, despite the imperfections that you share with all those other relationships that didn’t make it. (Shutterstock)

3. Commitment

Commitment is what makes you stay with someone, and actively do all it takes to make your relationship with them work, no matter how difficult it seems, or how much sacrifice it requires of you.

Words that bear very close similarity are dedication and devotion.

This is how commitment trumps other desirable relationship traits – it’s encompassing, an omnibus trait which has others as its components.

And as time goes on and the relationship becomes tested by distance, differences, tough decisions and other things you’ll likely encounter, you will come to understand how valuable this is. And you’ll be thankful more than ever, that you ended up with a man or woman who truly understands what it means to be with someone through hell and high water, through thick and thin and through sickness and health till death do you part.