Partners shouldn't do THIS to each other

If there's one thing people don't like, it's to be bossed around -- much less by their partner.

Relationships are all about compromise. Give and take. You scratch my back, I scratch yours.

Bossing your partner around is the quickest way to leave someone feeling oppressed and resentful. People should be afforded the flexibility to make their own decisions. They have as much a right to give their two cents as the other person does.

You are each other's mate; you're one another's companion. No one -- no matter their gender, race, job, economic background, or personality -- has dominion over anyone else.

Talking over someone, choosing their meals for them at restaurants, exhorting them to do things against their wishes, grabbing and searching through their phone at will: this kind of behavior is wholly unacceptable.

Now, there's nothing wrong with one person always taking the lead so long as his or her partner is okay with it. Some of us are too gun-shy to make choices big and small, leaving the other person in the role of key decision maker.

But no one should feel like their partner's prisoner or subject. If you find yourself in such a relationship, it's time for a serious talk. If your significant other refuses to treat you with the respect you deserve, you should abort ship as soon as possible, for he or she will become only more obnoxious and possessive over time.

Everyone has a say in a relationship, and only those relationships characterized by mutual trust and respect, not to mention open communication, can last over the long haul.

Your partner may love you, but that doesn't mean they own you -- or vice-versa.

Have you ever had a partner whose bossed you around? How'd you deal with it?

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