When you meet someone you’re crazy about, it’s hard as hell not to jump right in from day one. After all, it’s not often you come across someone you like who feels the same about you and you don’t want to lose them. However, you need to take it step by step. Here’s how to be patient in a new relationship so you don’t mess things up and can enjoy the process.
- Embrace the honeymoon phase in all its glory. The early stages of a relationship are some of the most fun. Why would you want to rush them or bypass them completely? This is when things are the most exhilarating and butterfly-inducing. Once it’s over, you move into a new phase of comfort and relaxation, but for now, being patient in your relationship really is in your best interest. Enjoy it!
- Distract yourself by focusing on your life outside the relationship. Your partner can’t and shouldn’t ever be your whole life. You have great friends, a killer career, a supportive and loving family, passions and hobbies… In other words, this new person you’re seeing isn’t the be-all, end-all. You can help yourself stay patient by looking outside the relationship sometimes and focusing your time and energy there.
- Get to know them as a person and let them get to know you in return. This early on, there’s really no sense in rushing things, especially because you don’t really know each other yet. You can’t truly be all-in on someone until you get to know who they really are as a person and make sure you gel well together as a couple. Take a deep breath, open yourself up to them, and allow yourself to feel them out too.
- Spend time away from each other. Perhaps the easiest way to stay patient in a new relationship is by spending time apart. You might want to be together all the time, but it’s not healthy and it’s certainly not feasible long-term. Make sure you take some time away from each other doing… well, whatever else you want. This will really help you both take things steady.
- Don’t follow each other on social media, at least not at first. Social media makes it all too easy to follow someone’s every last move. That’s why until you become more established, it’s better to avoid following each other on Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok, or becoming friends on Facebook. There’s plenty of time for that down the line.
