What does it mean? This arouses your curiosity, doesn’t it? No, it’s not a threesome. According to Dr. Robert J. Sterberg love would consist of three areas: intimacy, passion, and commitment. The love triangle.
But what do we mean by intimacy? It is friendship, trust, communication, empathy, and attachment. But what do we mean by passion? It is the ecstasy, the excitement, and the irresistible attraction we feel towards the other one. And what about commitment then? This implies the wish to maintain a long-term relationship and for some, it even means maintaining a relationship forever. Hem… that makes me wonder.
Am I at the best of my triangle? I don’t believe so! And nevertheless, the relationship fluctuates over time. It seems that passion is the variable the most likely to shade off! Do we have to forget about passion? Apparently not… According to research, couples that work in the long run are the ones ready to make an effort to maintain a certain level of passion.
The problem is that each one values the three areas in a different way. We can’t always be on the same page as our partner. We each have a different personality, our own family history, our own wounds, etc.
Love every day. The four attitudes according to Dr. Sternberg Welcome to the idea that the relationship will evolve and will not always be the same as at the beginning. Accept your partner the way he/she is rather than trying to change him/her. Be ready to compromise and find common ground. Learn to concentrate on the positive aspects of the relationship instead of focusing on the things you don’t like.