Often times it becomes taboo to talk about a lost relationship. If we silence the topic, the world will find itself tied to unhappiness. Humans were created to love and be loved. The desire to find that one person can add pressure onto the healthiness of a relationship. Unconditional love stems from sacrifice. No two people will carry on a relationship without compromise. Yet, it can become easy for the relationship to become unbalanced. Without a doubt, put as much effort and sacrifice into your significant other. Lines blur as time passes and it is easy to fall into a pattern of giving and sacrifice. Be sure you are healthily receiving as well. Recognize when love forces you to give up your well-being. When you begin to neglect your needs for the sake of the other person, think twice.

1. You Are Entitled

We are entitled to happiness. It is important to remember you deserve to experience life at its best. Self- sacrifice is noble. Sacrifice until it becomes second nature, but the moment it turns into self-neglect second guess. I found myself emotionally giving and in consequence, I forgot to stop and consider my own needs. I created a situation in which I allowed myself to fall so deep into a routine of dismissing my happiness. Love is sacrifice. What it is not, is self-neglect. I stripped myself of happiness. It was relatively easy to pretend my issues did not exist when investing myself in his. Do not forget you are entitled to happiness. By choosing to love someone else, do them a favor and be sure you are able to tend to yourself too.

2. Embrace Yourself

Your relationship will suffer if you do not love yourself. Upon understanding you deserve happiness, accept that relationships cannot prosper without self-love. Allow yourself to be human and know having flaws comes with that territory. Understand you will fall short and so will your partner. Expect the best but prepare yourself for human error. Breathe your own air. Do not rely on someone’s oxygen. I found myself suffocating from being emotionally relied on so heavily. Resulting from not having taken the time to sort out my own needs. Happiness begins with acceptance and ends with negligence.

3. Give It Your All

Upon sacrificing and loving yourself, be sure you have done everything to salvage the relationship. To ensure you have taken appropriate steps, find solutions. If you do not find peace of mind- end it. After giving it your all there is nothing more you can do. Love stands tall when rooted in healthy conditions. We are called to love and to serve, but we are not asked to give up our chance to find authentic love. Love without restraint and without constant exhaustion. When you find yourself needlessly sacrificing yourself for the sake of another (at the expense of that to which you are entitled), you are doing yourself harm. At that point you owe it to yourself to make that dreaded decision. Choose yourself for once. Walk away when you know long term it will make you the happiest.