Old People’s Wisdom About Love and Relationships

A loving relationship should not be not a battleground, but a place to nurture and grow with each other. Here's what old people can teach you about love.

It’s hard not to get a little sentimental when you see an old couple walking hand in hand like  young lovebirds. Many of us may ask how they managed to be together so long, what’s their secret?

The following guidance and quotes may help:

More people would learn from their mistakes if they weren’t so busy denying them. – Harold J. Smith

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source

Let’s face it, in life we all make mistakes; it is part of how we learn. Making mistakes is one thing, but refusing to own up to them and take responsibility for things we have done is another.

We are all human, and it is inevitable that in relationships we will make mistakes, be inconsiderate at times, or even take our partners for granted. But first we have to admit to ourselves that we have made a mistake, and if necessary apologize.

In relationships there is no room for stubbornly standing your ground just to prove you are ’right’. If you are making your partner unhappy, then ultimately nobody ’wins’. Think complementary sex, not opposite sex.

Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.

One thing that can make any romance grow stale is allowing the fun to go out of your relationship as you grow older. We all age, but that doesn’t mean we should let the fun and spontaneity go from our relationships with others.

Acting young keeps us feeling young, keeps our minds alive and active and allows us to see the beauty in every day things.

Play a little, let your inner child come out, you will be surprised at what fun you can have, and how it can improve your relationship.

Ask yourself: Who is the most important person in your life?

When it comes down to it, you really need to ask yourself who is the most important person in your life? It should be the person who agreed to share their life with you, somebody you love and cherish and would do anything for.

Now here is a little tip; treat them as such. We can all take others for granted from time to time, but if this is your default setting then sooner or later that person will probably abandon you and walk away.

Show the people you love that you care; it really is that simple.

The grass is not greener on the other side; it’s greener on the side you water the most.

the grass is not greener on the other side its greener on the side you water the most

We can all get a bit complacent with our relationships at times and life can seem better for other people. We can see others as having the perfect relationship, or a great single lifestyle, the perfect family… the list goes on.

However, the truth of the matter is that the grass does always look greener on the other side. But we would be wise to remember that we don’t always know what goes on behind closed doors or the other issues people struggle with privately. And in any event this has nothing to do with us.

But what we can do is make sure our own garden is watered, nurtured and looked after well.

No one ever dies wishing they had worked more or spent more time at the office.

Of course the majority of us need to work to live, but your work should provide you with the means to do what is really important to you. Don’t sacrifice quality time with the ones you love for your work. At times, this might be unavoidable, but don’t make a habit of it.

The people you love are important, and regardless of what you might think, when it comes to work, in business everyone is expendable…even if you are the boss.

On your deathbed will you be remembering the time you spent working or the time you spent with loved ones?

There are two things you cannot change: the past and other people. The things you can change are yourself and the choices you make today.

Never enter into any relationship thinking you can change that person or the past, because quite frankly you cannot. You might have an influence on improving or helping someone change their life, but you cannot change the core of who someone is.

You can of course change yourself, or your perspective on things, and you can make choices to improve your lot.

But don’t get in a relationship that you don’t really want, or with someone you want to change.

It is a surefire recipe for disaster.

The lesson to be learned from the long and happily married couples is that bad times can pass, and good times return. – Catherine Johnson

the lesson to be learned from the long and happily married couples is that bad times can pass and good times return

The one thing you can be certain of in life is that everything changes, nothing ever stays the same. All marriages and relationships have their ups and downs and challenges and joys, it’s part of life.

Relationships change too and require work and attention all the time, not just on birthdays or anniversaries.

An important thing to remember in relationships is that bad times do pass. The strongest couples are those who stick together in times of good and bad. They don’t give up the ghost just because they are going through a sticky patch or facing a challenge.

They know that with love and support the good times will return, and the good times will be even better than before, because they will be a stronger unit.

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. – Mignon McLaughlin

Never think that just because you are married or in a long term relationship that you will never have that giddy feeling of falling in love all over again.

The great thing is, when you are married or in a long term relationship you can fall in love as many times are you like, whenever you like…just with the same person.

And never believe that you know everything about your partner, each time you fall in love with them and take time to spend quality loving time with them, you will discover something new. How great is that!

A final word

At the end of the day, the most important ingredients in any successful relationship are love and respect for the other person, finding common ground and remaining committed to being together.

If you both truly want to stay together, then you don’t really need anyone to tell you that.

Cover photo: weheartit.com

About the author

Eleanor Goold

As well as being an avid reader, Eleanor is also a big time animal lover; especially of dogs. If you have a tail, four legs and you bark…. you’re in! In her spare time she enjoys swimming, and vegetable gardening… but not at the same time (it can get a bit messy).

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