How to Stop Losing Yourself in a Relationship
In my early twenties, I could feel that I was losing myself next to my partner. Yet, I was scared to leave for many reasons, and all of them were just illusions of my subconscious mind. After I did leave, I realized that losing myself was the worst thing I could do in my life.
When you’re losing yourself in a relationship, you feel the clock ticking. You know that you’re wasting your life, and yet it drains the energy out of your body so you can’t make yourself leave.
As I was putting pieces of my heart, soul, and joy back together, I promised myself that this was the last time it happened. And I want to share with you 7 tips on what to do when you start losing yourself in a relationship, and you want to stay with your partner. Because the truth is that it’s about us more than anyone else.
1. Who Am I Without Them?
If you’ve been long with someone, you start to forget who you’d be on your own. You do most things together. Synergy is a beautiful thing. But when you feel like you no longer know what YOU want, it’s important to create a sacred distance in your relationship.
The chances are that your partner doesn’t want you to lose yourself in a relationship. And if they do, then run away. Fast. Sometimes we voluntarily start merging with the partner when they would be happier if we kept those hobbies, friends, qualities that they have fallen in love with.
To figure out what you want and who you are without them, journal on these questions:
What would I do now if I were alone? Ex., how would you relax in your free time Saturday morning?
If I didn’t have to think about what my partner wants, what would I want to experience in my life?
Of course, you should be on the same page with your partner. But sometimes we restrict ourselves when it’s not necessary. For instance, starting a new hobby might add more joy to your relationship. When you’re happy, they’re happy too.
2. Are You Giving Your Power Away?
When you’re losing yourself in a relationship, some part of you has withdrawn from your life. Unconsciously, you may be giving your power away. It’s time to change it.
Do you actively participate in the decisions of your life?
Where are you taking on excessive responsibility or counting on your partner a little too much?
As two sovereign beings, you should both participate in the direction of your life. Perhaps you’ve stopped sharing some of your dreams or needs. To stop losing yourself in a relationship, you have to claim responsibility for where your common life is heading.
3. Inner Masculine and Feminine
You feel like you’re losing yourself when your inner masculine and feminine are not balanced. This may look like becoming your weaker and more fragile self for women. Or assuming too much pressure for providing for a family for men. Of course, there are many other ways how our inner masculine and feminine can be misaligned.
Part of our current evolutionary journey is related to balancing our inner masculine and feminine. Take a look inside and see whether your inner man and woman find a common dialogue. Do they collaborate? Or do they fight?
When your inner masculine and feminine are wobbly, you project one of them on your partner and assume that they’ll do their job. Then you’re losing yourself in a relationship because you’re not in touch with your inner second half.
4. Your Vision
The fastest way to losing yourself in a relationship is to detach from your dreams and long-term vision. The subconscious mind convinces you that you can’t do this or that now that you’re not single. So you stop even trying to dream.
We need to feel that our lives are leading to something greater. If we give up on our dreams, we lose joy and purpose in life. We become an automaton.
Regardless of whether you’re a parent, spouse, or partner, your life doesn’t end when you’re in a relationship. Connect to your vision and start taking action. Include your loved ones. You living your purpose is a win to your beloved ones too.
5. Know Your Worth
Knowing your worth is the single most important thing that changes everything. When you feel worthy, you stand in your power, and you don’t let yourself be swept away by other people.
Owning your worth is not about being selfish. It’s about realizing and fully owning the fact that your life is sacred and also short. You can’t afford to waste your time on the wrong things or with the wrong people.
When you know your worth, you stop playing games with yourself and others. You stop proving something to your partner. Instead, you take the lead of your life. You don’t unconsciously slip into the role of how a good spouse should look like. When you know your worth, you’re on fire. You live your purpose.
6. Me Time
You need to have a ‘me time’ which is undefined by your relationship. This one is obvious even if you’re not losing yourself in a relationship. But how many people have strong will enough to do it?
Return to your morning or evening routines. Go back to your old hobbies. And enjoy every second of it. Because if you don’t spend time alone, you start losing track of who you are. Get in touch with yourself. Take yourself on a date alone. Do what brings you joy, just because—no need to justify or explain it to others.
7. Equality
No matter what anyone says, relationship without equality can’t be fulfilling. If one of you is parenting the other one or being a victim, it won’t work.
Equality means that you’re both actively participating in your decisions and the future. Your voices matter, and you have the same freedom to pursue your happiness as a couple and also separately. You take each other’s opinions seriously, and you respect one another.
If you’re losing yourself in a relationship, likely, your relationship isn’t equal. Is it possible that you don’t share what you want? Could you participate more in making your own decisions? Take a look within, and see where the inequality comes from and then take baby steps to change it.