I’ve always lived my life for everyone else. Thinking about all the actions in my life it is very apparent to me that I gave my all for so long without expecting nor getting anything in return.

When it came to settling down with someone I always based it on the other person liking me, but never took the time to really see if I liked that person in return. Once I figured out the feelings were not mutual it became very obvious to me the things I should have seen from the beginning.

Don’t get me wrong, I love to give to others without any expectations of gaining anything in return, but after years of giving there comes a point where you get exhausted and your eyes are opened to the reality of the situation.

Two people who receive love in completely different ways are either going to flourish in their relationship or clash, that’s all there is to it. I personally feel there are many people out there who love giving to others and not receiving anything in return ever. I also feel it’s human nature to want to give a little in return, after all relationships are all about two people working hard at keeping their love alive, if only one person is doing “their job” then reality is the situation quite possibly may just get worse and the two may end up having bitter, angry feelings towards each other.

Reality is that relationships take hard work and effort by TWO people, and without both working together things can get pretty messy. Relationships are all about give and take. The truth is that if you are having issues in your marriage, relationship, friendship, or similar situation then maybe you should step back and take a look in the mirror. I know when I take a moment to really think about myself and my actions when it comes to being in relationships, I see a lot of things I should have done differently and if a relationship doesn’t work this time around it would be smart to check yourself before you have the same pattern of behavior in the next relationship.

If you are having trouble determining if you should break up or make up I would advise you to read this article on Oprah.com by Karen Salmansohn. It’s a very eye opening article for sure!