As guys we sometimes get a bit confused as to treat our girlfriends. Maybe it’s because we are different in so many ways, generally speaking. Sometimes we try, but they seem to take things the wrong way, despite our best intentions. All you want to know is how to be nice to your girlfriend. You love her and want her to know how you feel in both words and actions.

Not taking her for granted is a good start. This isn’t meant to sound harsh but it’s true: she is not obligated to stay with you. She has every right to leave you, and could do so at any moment. Now, that doesn’t mean you should be constantly worried, or let that though make you jealous, but it does mean that you should value her and make no assumptions.

Even if you’re not taking her for granted, you may still be wondering how to be nice to your girlfriend in a way that she will appreciate. Before you can do that, you have to know what things she likes. You also need to know what type of affection she responds best to. For example, you may think saying “I love you” is all it takes to let your feelings be known. But maybe she was raised in a home where affection was shown through physical touch, such as a pat on the back or a shoulder massage. Knowing this will help you in your efforts to be nice. In this case, a foot rub after she has had a hard day will go much further than telling her how much you love her.

There are also some basic things you can do, no matter how she likes to be shown affection. Treating her with respect is always the right thing to do. Even if you are arguing, you should still treat her with respect. She is a person, and deserves to be treated with common decency. Don’t treat her like an inferior, don’t talk down to her, and don’t treat her like she’s stupid.

This is also a perfect time to remember the Golden Rule. In other words, ask yourself how you would like her to treat you. Or, how would you feel if she started saying and doing to you what you say and do to her? Would you be okay with that, or would it rub you the wrong way? If you wouldn’t like it, then that’s a strong sign that you need to change.

One of the big problems is that you may think that you are being nice, but your girlfriend doesn’t think so. When this happens you will need to talk to each other to find out what’s going wrong. You’re trying to be a good guy, and she wants you to be a good guy, and a little communication can go a long way. How to be nice to your girlfriend really is as simple as that.

If you have ever thumbed through a magazine that regularly discusses relationships, whether it be a men’s or women’s magazine, chances are you have seen various types of quizzes. One of the more common quizzes is the marriage test. You answer a few silly questions, and then check your answers to get some supposedly deep insight into you relationship.

There is nothing wrong with such quizzes, and they can be a fun way to pass some while waiting for a doctor’s appointment. As long as you only take them for what they are–a source of entertainment–then there is no real harm in taking them. Besides, if you have ever taken them, you have probably noticed one or two things. First, the explanation of your score is so far off that it’s downright laughable. Second, the explanations are so general that they could apply to virtually any relationship you have ever been in; good or bad.

It is probably a safe assumption that no marriage test in a magazine has ever saved a marriage. They are fun and have their place, but fixing a relationship isn’t it; no matter what the maker of the quiz claims. However, there is a test you can use to help make your marriage stronger. You won’t find it any magazine, but not to worry, the questions of this marriage test are below.

Before you take the test, you need to decide which way works best for you. Will each of you take it separately with a pen and paper, or will you discuss the answers as you take the test? Either way, the main goal is to spark a good discussion about your marriage. This is important because good communication is one of the foundations of a healthy marriage.

1. How do you envision our future? This is a good question because it will show if you have drifted apart, or if you are still together in the things you want from the relationship. It’s far better to know where each of you stands instead of making assumptions. But, as long as you both seeing you being together, then it’s possible to work out the details.

2. What do you want from the marriage and life? The purpose of this question is to not only see what the ideal marriage means to each other, but to also see what the bigger life questions mean. Over the years people change, so you may be surprised to learn how your spouse answers this question, and vice-versa.

3. What’s the one thing you would change? By asking this you will get an idea of where the problem areas of your marriage are. Don’t take it personally, but be happy that you get a chance to learn where you can make improvements.

4. What could I do better? Be careful here. You need to make sure there is enough respect before you ask this question. The one answer you don’t want to hear is “nothing”. The truth is that none of us are perfect, and that means there is always room to do better. Your spouse should feel comfortable enough to tell you the truth, and you should feel confident enough to hear it.

If you want to have a healthy relationship, you need to define the relationship. One of the biggest reasons that relationships have problems is because both people in the relationship have different expectations and assumptions about what kind of relationship they’re in.

Frankly, if you think you’re on the road to marriage and happily ever after and your boyfriend or girlfriend thinks that’s what you have is a nice light fling, you are going to have problems. Hurt emotions, broken hearts and generally misery tend to lie in the future for people who fail to define the relationship they’re in.

The problem is that everyone, and I mean everyone, tends to think of everything they do as normal. This is a problem because there is no such thing as normal. Every person is a unique bundle of needs, fears, and desires. The strengths and weaknesses that make us who we are make the need to define the relationship essential.

Whether we realize it or not, we are all using ourselves as the baseline for behavior. This means that on some very essential levels, we assume that other people want what we want, feel what we feel. Most of us are aware that this isn’t the case on a conscious level, but it’s hard to put this into action all the time.

As long as things seem to be going okay, we have a tendency to let this go on more and more. After all, when they seem happy and you seem happy, there’s no reason to examine your assumptions and expectations. Most of us only do that when things have gone wrong in a relationship.

This why the need to define the relationship early on is so great. Because other people are, well, other people. They may be happy in the relationship, but they may be happy for different reasons. If you let this go too far, you may be setting yourself up for resentment and pain.

By taking the time to define the relationship, you are taking the reins in the relationship. You will be able to see where you are and where you are heading. This will allow you to have a healthier, stronger relationship because you will both be pulling in the same direction rather than going off in two different emotional directions until the strain on the relationship is so great that it breaks.

The problem with taking action to define the relationship is that it’s not the comfortable path to take. The conversations can be awkward, and there’s always an element of fear that the two of you will have such radically different expectations and goals that the relationship may end.

These are false worries, for the most part. You need to look at the effort to define the relationship as being exercise for your relationship: it may be tough and the time and there’s a small chance that you may get injured, but the truth is that it will almost always make the relationship better and stronger.

If you need help in figuring out what you need to do to define the relationship, there is loads of help available. This is one of the best things you can do to build a strong relationship, and it is well worth the effort.