A common characteristic of happy couples is that they attend social events together when the occasion arises — but it's just as important for the relationship to do things on your own. Abigail Brenner, M.D., a psychiatrist with more than three decades of experience, wrote for Psychology Today about what a happy coupledom entails. "You keep your own identity within the relationship and so does your partner," she says. Part of that identity includes the time you spend with the friends you invested in before you fell in love.
3. You Encourage Each Other To Pursue Your Ambitions
Going back to how important it is to keep your own identity afloat in a relationship, it's crucial that you each have your own dreams, whether that relates to your career or your hobbies. If you know that you can always count on your partner to lift you up when you're pursuing something that's really important to you, that means you guys have a strong foundation. Couples who don't respect each other's goals don't tend to make it very long, and certainly aren't mature.
