Relationships fail without THIS

Let's say you and your partner are trying to decide where to eat tonight. You've been craving Chinese for a while and suggest hitting up the Asian restaurant that just opened down the block. Your girlfriend, however, insists on trying out a hole-in-the-wall Italian place downtown that all of your friends have been raving about. What do you do?

As another example, let's assume you invite your friend over for drinks. You turn on the TV to watch the season finale of one of your favorite shows. Your friend, however, begs that you tune into Game 7 of the World Series, which she's been looking forward to watching all day. What do you do?

Along with trust, respect, loyalty, and communication, compromise is the glue that holds a relationship together. 

If two people genuinely desire for the relationship to remain strong, they each have to be willing to yield to the other's wishes every so often. They can't have it their way all the time, which smacks of selfishness and inflexibility. 

In the first example, the pair can opt to get Mediterranean food and dine at the restaurants they originally had in mind on future occasions -- say, one on Valentine's Day 

and the other on their anniversary.

In the second example, the person inviting the friend over can allow warm hospitality to win the day by recording the show to watch at a later date and putting the game on for her friend to enjoy. Whenever it is that they go to the other person's house, however, the one doing the inviting should similarly accede to her friend's wishes. 

If you don't believe in the practice of give and take, you're going to struggle to keep your relationships afloat. Sure, every so often both parties should expect to hear a "no." But if one person always says "yay" and the other's answer to everything is "nay," that relationship is in serious jeopardy. 

No one likes having to deal with an obstinate friend or partner who has to get their way all the time. All it does is make the relationship seem entirely one-sided, which can become quite tiresome after a while. 

Relationships should be built on fairness and reciprocity. Neither person should be out to get the upper hand. Neither person should take advantage of the other. Compromise is critical to making each person feel as though their feelings are valued and their needs are being considered in earnest. 

Sadly, a relationship where compromise is nowhere to be found will ultimately go off the rails. Those who refuse to compromise on anything demonstrate that they're only out for themselves and are not prepared to form intimate relationships.