Are You Getting Serious in Your Relationship? Then Consider These Questions First!

What Are Your Love Languages?

Love languages are proving to be a crucial tool for determining compatibility. If you're unfamiliar with the idea, there are five ways to express love: acts of service, giving and getting presents, spending time with others, physical contact, and words of affirmation. 

Each person has a preferred manner of expressing and receiving love. Knowing your love languages can make conveying your needs to your spouse easier, ensure you receive attention as you like, and give your partner the love they deserve.

What Confrontation Style Do You Prefer?

This question and the one regarding love languages are somewhat related. Different conflict management techniques won't decide the fate of your relationship, but knowing how you and your spouse handle conflict will help you work through problems and move on as a couple. 

Understanding each style's advantages and disadvantages can help you navigate it. Examples of diverse methods of conflict resolution include accommodating, avoiding, making compromises, cooperating, and competing. 

What Are Your Respective Relationship Goals?

Discussing this kind of issue upfront can ensure that you both appreciate each other's preferences for the partnership. Are you monogamous? Or do you feel okay if your partner goes on dates or has affairs? Do you aspire to exclusivity in the future? What are the desires for your relationship if you are not exclusive? Are you two interested in continuing to date each other?

What Is Your Dream Social Life Like?

While it may appear trivial, it's crucial to remember that everyone has unique preferences for how they spend their alone time and social time. Extrovert-introvert relationships regularly occur and are incredibly successful when partners know one other's preferences for social contact and alone time. 

It may be difficult for introverts to keep up with their more outgoing counterparts. On the other hand, introverted spouses could find it unpleasant if their outgoing partners are continually partaking in social events on their own. Discussing your tastes and demands for both social and free time at an early stage may be beneficial.

Why Did the Previous Relationship End?

Whether you're just beginning a new relationship or considering getting more serious with your current one, you should consider prior relationships and why they failed. After all, no one wants to repeat past mistakes. With some self-reflection and honesty, you can assess your previous relationships better and work to build your present one.

What Are Your Deal Breakers?

You could also discuss deal breakers or the activities that won't work in your relationship to be on the same page. In the framework of an intimate relationship, "take some time to talk honestly regarding what you cannot accept and hear your significant other out about what they're unable to accept," advises Williamson. It might be something significant like lying or something minor like not leaving the dishes in the sink.

Should You Get Married?

Since marriage doesn't involve negotiation, you should bring it up sooner than later. This is often a pivotal question that dictates the future of countless relationships.  As the host of The Kurre and Klapow Show and a professional psychologist, Joshua Klapow, Ph.D., mentioned, "This is clear, yet many couples avoid the issue lest they 'jinx' their relationship. 

You should have the guts to ask. Marriage is the natural best end of any relationship. However, some people are not ready for such a commitment, and it's better to know as soon as possible.

How Should You Resolve Your Differences?

Finding a solution that works for each of you while having challenging conversations or debates is always a brilliant idea. It's a sign of a partnership that intends to last all the way to the end.

This knowledge is frequently acquired via experience, often after a fight has already happened and potential harm has been done, according to Olaine. However, discussing conflict resolution upfront can result in more fruitful and less painful interactions.

What Worries You?

Sharing your deepest concerns and anxieties in a relationship can be frightening since it leaves you feeling vulnerable and helpless. Sharing your flaws, however, may strengthen your relationship by allowing your spouse to understand you better, empathize with you, and support your personal development. 

This might lead to a closer bond and more intimate conversation. This could lead to a closer bond and more private chat. Having a safe and welcoming atmosphere in your relationship is critical, where you can openly express your worries and doubts without fear of rejection or criticism.

What Financial Expectations Are There?

This applies particularly to couples considering taking their relationship very seriously, but it is still helpful to talk about initially. Is it expected that one person will cover the costs of the dates? Or do you distribute the resources equally? Everyone has been taught that discussing money is improper. 

Even so, it's critical to establish economic compatibility if you and your spouse want to live together, mainly because it typically adds stress to long-term marriages and relationships.