Think about how disheartening and even depressing the next sentence can be.

Being stuck in an awkward situation where finding someone that’ll stick with you long-term seems impossible.

This is a reality for a lot of men and women alike.

While this kind of situation might seem like someone is downright unlucky when it comes to romantic relationships.

Being familiar with the distinctive characteristics of successful long-term relationships and knowing what makes them so — can play a vital role in transforming such a situation.

See, the truth is, successful long-term relationships in two words, can be simply described as happy relationships.

Yes, they’re not perfect because there’s no such thing as a perfect relationship.

But truly happy couples somehow know how to embrace and appreciate each other’s differences, allowing them to wholeheartedly work together every day to create something that’s not just special, but will last and grow stronger as they continue their journey together.

They understand that it’s through understanding and accepting each other’s unique qualities that they can build a lasting and fulfilling relationship.

Happy couples actively navigate and cherish their differences, recognizing that it’s these very disparities that bring richness and depth to their connection.

That being said, here are a few characteristics that set these couples apart from the rest of the pack.

1. Respecting each other’s humanness.

More than anything else, to us humans, this is one of the most vital cruces of being in a relationship.

Because being seen, accepted, loved, and even treated like the human that we are is a primal need for us.

And when we find ourselves in a relationship where it doesn’t feel like we can be our imperfect selves like we can’t lose our confidence, patience, or second guess ourselves even though we are most times confident or patient, the relationship becomes anything but fulfilling and will eventually crash on a very painful note.

That’s why the most successful long-term relationships are the types of relationships where one can make mistakes, lose her temper, or get caught off guard.

They’re the types of relationships in which she can stumble, slip, or spin out of control sometimes without any judgment whatsoever from her partners because they love her for who she really is, with all her imperfections.

Consider it yourself. How would you feel if your partner is the type to love and stand by you not only when you’re remarkable, but even in your trying times of imperfections?

Lemme guess: you’ll feel unconditionally loved and respected, right?

And I strongly believe that to some extent, unconditional love can be the key to lasting relationships.

Hence, if you and your partner can both love and respect each other even in your respective trying times of imperfections, your relationship will stand a chance of lasting longer.

But you should also bear in mind that it doesn’t mean you or your partner should tolerate consistent hurtful behaviors or become a doormat.

It simply means that you should at least know that you’re both humans that should love and respect each other even at your worsts.

Because you both know how remarkable the both of you are most times.

And that bad days happen every once in a while.

Also read: 7 Subtle Differences Between Truly Happy Couples, and The Rest

2. Prioritizing negotiations over the overrated act of compromising.

It’s pretty typical of romantic couples to have differing opinions and preferences when it comes to things like spending time together or apart, family plans, money, sex-life balance, you name it.

How do you and your partner deal with your respective opinions, wants, and fluid needs that constitute the inner workings of your relationship?

I don’t know the situation in your relationship.

But I know very well that if you both don’t often work towards finding a neutral ground that’s mutually or even equally comfortable for the both of you, your relationship will be very much an unhappy one. And such kinds of relationships might eventually turn out to be everything but successful long-term relationships.

I’m confident about this because I’ve witnessed numerous examples of happy couples who not only compromise but are driven to negotiate their way into workable solutions that they can enthusiastically embrace and implement.

These happy couples enjoy stronger and more joyful unions because they understand the importance of seeking win-win negotiations rather than settling for compromises where each party has to give up something.

Because the truth is, if a one-sided compromise or no compromise at all is a thing in a relationship, then it shouldn’t come as a surprise that anger, bitterness, resentments, drama, and consistent arguments will eventually drag the relationship to the dumps.

In other words, if a couple can’t make choices or decisions that work well for both parties involved, their relationship will most likely be everything but a long-lasting one.

Recommended reading: 7 Really Small Things that Will Tell if You’re with the Right Person

3. Making frequent sacrifices for each other.

Yeah, this sounds pretty contrary to the previous point.

Because if you and your partner can negotiate your way into workable solutions in almost every situation, there might be no need to give up your respective needs so that the other person will have their way.

But if we are to be realistic, being consistently bent on negotiations can sometimes be too rigid, aside from the fact that it isn’t always easy.

Besides, sacrifice in a relationship doesn’t necessarily mean unequivocally giving up your needs so that your partner will always have their way. Instead, it means prioritizing the needs of your partner and the relationship as much as you prioritize yours.

The truth is, there are situations where negotiations are imperative as in the case of sex-life-related issues, money-related issues, property acquisitions, family planning, etc.

Just as there are situations where making even the least significant sacrifices will massively increase the likely hood of long-term happiness in your relationship. Make both of you feel loved, prioritized, and valued. And ultimately increase your chances of having a successful long-term relationship.

Can you, as a part of a happy couple, make the effort to reduce or eliminate your screen time when you’re spending time together?

Can you let go of the need to always be right, even during the smallest disagreements?

Can you release your obsession with perfection? And perhaps, can you at least minimize thinking and behaving as if you’re the center of the universe? These are important considerations for happy couples who prioritize the quality of their relationship over individual habits or ego.

See, sacrifices in a relationship don’t have to be huge sweeping gestures because even the smallest things can oftentimes have the biggest impacts.

You might also like: Give Up These Toxic Beliefs If You Want A Better And Less Stressful Love Life

4. Good anger management plus emotional and conflict intelligence.

I’m pretty sure we are all on the same page that it’s practically inevitable to either piss off our significant others or be angered, provoked, or infuriated by our partners.

And I’m also certain we all know that the way a couple deals with anger in their relationship can make or break it.

The surest way to ensure that frequent and inevitable anger and provocations will allow a relationship to be sustained over a long period of time, is quite straightforward and obvious, despite not being easy.

It’s as obvious as taming your anger and choosing to often take a break, calm down, process your emotions, and discuss the issue calmly later on. Instead of letting loose of the vulgar remarks on the tip of your tongue when you’re heated.

It’s also about overlooking seemingly small things and refusing to blow things out of proportion. Not because your feelings about certain things are insignificant. But because you know too well to pick your battles rightly enough to SOMETIMES lose the battle to win the war.

Consider the following questions:

Is what is right more important than either of you being right in your relationship?

How often do you apologize when either of you has done something wrong or caused one another emotional distress?

How well do you both forgive and let go of all the hurts, betrayals, disappointments, anger, and annoyances you both cause each other?

The problem is that many of us tend to make mistakes when dealing with heated situations. We often allow our desire to be right and justified to cloud our thoughts, actions, and reactions, making our relationships and love lives more challenging than necessary.

However, if we can, as happy couples do, strive to be emotionally and conflict-intelligent more often than not, we can create an environment where strong and lasting relationships become much more feasible.

How can we hope for successful long-term relationships when we struggle to prioritize our relationships over our egotistical self-interests?

Also read: 7 Reasons You Suck At Relationships

Final thoughts.

When you have little to no clue of what whatever you’re looking for actually looks like, you might never find it.

You might never find a long-lasting relationship when you’re oblivious to the necessary ingredients of successful long-term relationships.

So, to escape that awkward situation where no one is willing to stick with you long-term, you’ll need to inject a sufficient dose of the ingredients that make relationships last long into your current or next relationship, as the case may be.

Start by looking out for a relationship where you and your partner will respect each other’s humanness. Negotiate and strike a neutral balance on your ever-changing needs. Make frequent sacrifices for each other. Control your respective anger and manage your conflicts intelligently.

Again, the goal isn’t to strive for perfection.

But to love and respect each other, despite your differences.

And work together in unity towards creating something special that can be best described as a happy relationship — that’ll most importantly, last long.

J. Emmanuel is a results-obsessed relationship blogger and founder of Top Love Hacks with more than half a decade of experience, dedicated to helping you level up your dating and relationship game by motivating you to be in control of your love life. His widely read work has been featured on Tiny Buddha, The Good Men Project, Publishious, Curious, to mention but a few.

Suggested readings: 5 Truths About Relationships That Will Change The Way You Think About LoveThe Truth About Being Ashamed of Someone You Love