Be Empowered in a Relationship, Not Entitled

Romancipation

S5 Episode 5: Be Empowered in a Relationship, Not Entitled

Episode Summary

A healthy relationship is based on respect, trust, communication, boundaries and acceptance. Each person who enters into a partnership is entitled to have their wants and needs met by their partner, and in turn they should be willing to offer the same. Remember, a relationship takes two people, and both should be willing and able to make their partner feel cherished and loved.
Having realistic and thoughtful relationship expectations for you and your partner is empowering. Making demands, living by a double-standard or refusing to communicate with your romantic partner is not only unacceptable behavior, it is disrespectful, thoughtless and immature. Striking a balance between empowerment and entitlement can be tricky. That is why you need to practice self-awareness to avoid falling into unhealthy patterns.
When a person is comfortable with who they are, they become a better partner. Empowering yourself outside of the relationship affords you the ability to respect your partner’s boundaries and to accept their limitations. When a couple plays to one another’s strengths, the bonds that tie them together are reinforced.
At the end of each episode, Marlee and Lis vent about commonly experienced issues in romantic relationships. In this episode, the ladies discuss how toxic it can be to a relationship when a partner lets their family members interfere in the primary relationship.

Show Notes

Do you know the difference between being empowered versus being entitled in your relationship? Requiring respect is empowering. On the other hand, making demands is entitlement. It’s important for people to understand this distinction. You can’t use empowerment as an excuse to make demands from another person.

A relationship is two whole people coming together. You are going to have to have your needs and wants met, and you will also have to meet the wants and needs of your partner. It’s not entirely about your expectations because it’s a two-way street.

The key to empowerment is understanding and playing to your strengths. It’s about communicating effectively, setting boundaries, and taking ownership. Sharing household duties, emotional care, and apologizing when you should is empowering. Living by a double standard, refusing to communicate, and having an unfair distribution of labor is entitled behavior.

An empowered person operates from a place of comfort and knows how to draw on what they need, rather than placing all the expectations on their partner. Once you start emphasizing and working on your own empowerment, you’ll realize how much healthier it is for you and your relationship.

In this episode, the vent session topic is: When people let their family interfere in the relationship. You don’t automatically deserve a place in someone else’s relationship. This often stems from a need for control, and too many people allow this to happen in a relationship. Your partner only needs to satisfy your wants and needs, not those of your family members. If your family can’t respect your boundaries and your relationship, they don’t respect you.

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