Relationships don't die of natural causes

Relationships don't die a natural death.

Their demise is brought on by selfishness, lies, neglect, and a lack of compassion and consideration toward one's partner.

In some relationships, only one partner is responsible for causing a rift, and in others, both partners are to blame.

Unfortunately, some people expect their partner to do all the heavy lifting, leaving the other physically, mentally, and emotionally drained and effectively running the relationship into the ground.

If people don't want to do their fair share, why enter into a relationship at all?

A relationship is a partnership between two individuals. Both of them invest in, maintain, and enhance the relationship so that each feels they're not just reaping benefits, but dispensing them to the other as well.

In most cases, both partners put in comparable effort in the early stages of dating as they're getting to know one another.

It's when complacency begins to set in that things get hairy. One person might start to coast while the other continues to go out of their way to please their partner.

Before you know it, the former is selfishly out to do whatever they please, completely indifferent to his or her partner's feelings. Lying and finger-pointing only serve to add fuel to the fire.

The injured party may opt to continue putting up with such behavior because he or she has low self-esteem, doesn't want to be alone, or hopes their partner will change their ways sooner or later.

Or, they may decide to give him or her a taste of their own medicine, treating their partner like garbage in kind.

Another possibility is that they may resolve to end the relationship for good.

Nevertheless, being ignored, taken for granted, disrespected, or lied to gets old after a while. No one should be subject to that kind of behavior.

If one doesn't feel they're emotionally mature enough for a relationship, there's no reason to commit to one. It'll only lead to arguments, misunderstandings, and hurt feelings.

Relationships are not for the faint of heart. They involve hard work and sacrifice. There are going to be days where you will wonder how you managed to find someone so wonderful, and days that will put the relationship to the test and make you question whether you picked the right person.

At the end of the day, if a relationship is meant to be, neither partner will give up on the other -- no matter their flaws or shortcomings.

If it's not meant to be, however, it won't die on its own -- it'll perish because one or both partners put themselves before the good of the relationship.

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