Ways to Be a More Supportive Partner

Many people, when they feel they have done wrong to their lover, try to figure out ways to be a more supportive partner. Maybe they hurt their lover. Maybe they love a person something awful but fear that the relationship is tumbling between their outstretched fingers like so many grains of sand. Or maybe, they just weren't there enough or started showing all the signs that you need to rethink the relationship.

To avoid these problems, there remain numerous ways to be a more supportive partner, so you, if you genuinely make the effort, can make your partner feel like the most beautiful angel in the world.

Show You're Listening

Sometimes, listening isn't enough. One of the best ways to be a more supportive partner is to show you're listening. You could go about doing other tasks while your partner complains about their day, about someone they think hates them, but doing so will leave your partner feeling as though their concerns don't matter.

All it takes is eye contact. A nod. Asking questions. Showing your partner that they have your full attention. The little things like that validate their feelings.

Remember

Put simply, staring in attention isn't enough. You need to show you're listening. If your partner asked you to do something, do it. If your partner asked you to remember a certain date, remember it.

The way to be a more supportive partner is to show that you are there to support your partner. Show them that you're listening. Show them that you want to help them throughout whatever. The first step is showing you're on their side in the first place.

Consider Your Partner First

Going out to eat? Getting ready for a night on the town? What does your lover want to do? Before thinking of your needs, consider your partner's needs. Make things good for them. No one likes a bad date.

This simple step is one of the best ways to be a more supportive partner, mainly because you are directly supporting their wishes. What is better than to nurture their feelings of self-worth and validity by simply validating what they want?

Apologize

Don't apologize for the sake of it, but apologize when you do wrong by your partner. At the end of the day, you and your partner are all you two have, and if your partner can't trust you to be on their side, then who can they trust?

Apologize when you've been dishonest. Apologize when you hurt them. Apologize that you aren't doing enough. Don't whine, but just be sincere. The message should be that "I may not have been there for you that time, but next time I will."

But more important is the follow-up. Don't make the same mistake over and over again. Grow. Change. Evolve. Show our partner that you are there to support them, to show them love.

Don't pantomime an apology when you don't mean it.

Laugh Together

Laughing feels good. Laughing with someone else makes you feel good around that person. It's a bonding mechanism. It's how we grow closer to people – laughing together.

Laughing with your partner is the best way to grow close. It makes both of you feel better. It's a shot of positivity that'll help you deal with the rest of the nonsense you put up with in your life. It's essential and simple.

"We're a Team"

Sometimes, the best way to be a more supportive partner is to just establish that you support one another through words. After all, at the end of the day, the two of you are out there on your own. You are a team, you and your partner.

By establishing this, you establish that you are both together in this crazy world together. The world cannot blow you down if you stand up firm together.

But your partner will never know that you stand together unless you say it.