The best advice on love I have ever received

At some point in our lives, we all go through a rough patch in our relationships. When the issues between our partner and us reach a point of no return, we turn to our close friends and family members to seek guidance that helps us to sail through the turbulent times. After all, the matters of love and relationships are no less than a labyrinth, right?

We got in touch with five people from different walks of life, and asked them the best love advice they have ever received. Here are their insightful responses…

“I used to associate love and relationship with endless romance, and a fable-like life where nothing can go wrong. I used to paint a rosy picture and it was my married sister who shattered my myth. She opined that relationships require constant adjustment, dedication, commitment, and understanding from both the partners. And love is definitely not the only thing that makes this companionship successful.”

“Before I got married, my mother gave me this life-changing advice. Every relationship goes through tumultuous times, and such circumstances help you to check the strength of your relationship. If you love someone, you will stand by him, no matter what happens.”

“Thanks to Bollywood films and unrealistic romantic novels, we think love is about candle-light dinners, surprise gifts, amazing sex and having fun. But in reality, love lies in small things that we fail to notice in everyday life. For instance, love is when your partner makes a cup of coffee for you when you return home after a tiring day at office, or specially gets up before you in the morning and cooks breakfast to surprise you. Love is when your partner takes leave from work when you are unwell (even before you ask for it), or scolds you for eating ice-cream when you have a sore throat. This advice was given to me by my father, and my relationship became beautiful once I start observing these little things.”

“This is the most valuable advice my sister-in-law gave me once. You surely make adjustments in a relationship but you never change yourself completely. In fact, the most beautiful part about being in love is that both the partners embrace each other the way they are, despite all their imperfections.”

“I was madly in love with a guy in my previous relationship, and never placed my happiness on the top of my priority list. With time, the relationship became all about his likes, dislikes, comforts and interest, and ‘my’ priorities were nowhere in the scene. It was during this phase when my best friend cautioned me about how I am losing myself and placing my happiness in someone else’s hands. She advised me to first learn to love myself, understand my needs from a partner and only then can I find true joy in a relation."