Holly Riordan

We need a while to calm down after arguments. Anxiety takes time to fade. That’s why we need you to be careful with your tone. We need you to show us respect, even when we’re annoyed with each other.

And you should never apologize for loving yourself.

Breadcrumbing is when someone gives you hope that you’ll end up in a relationship together, but they never actually end up committing to you.

We take a long time to get comfortable in new relationships. We aren’t going to open our hearts up and spill out our guts right away.

Too many people settle for the bare minimum because they think that asking for more is going to make them look high maintenance or greedy.

Never let yourself accept the bare minimum. Never let someone talk you into feeling like you’re getting a good deal when you’re getting so much less than you deserve.

When someone loves you, they’ll keep their word in good times and in bad. Their promises and their behaviors will line up because they would never lie to you. They would never disappoint you.

Modern dating has turned mixed signals and ghosting into the norm. It’s easier than ever to hide your real feelings behind a screen, to leave others on read and drop out of their lives without a word.

1. Your comfort zone isn’t a place to make a home. It’s a pit stop where you should rest and recharge. You don’t want to linger for too long because you could get stuck where you don’t belong.

You deserve someone who matches your energy. Someone who is just as excited about the relationship as you are. Someone who cannot wait to see you and brag to all their friends about you.

They will promise to stay loyal to you. The right person isn’t going to betray your trust. They are going to treat you right from day one, and that will never change, no matter how long you are together.

You deserve more than someone who sends mixed signals, who can’t give you a straight answer, who makes you wonder what’s on their mind because they won’t say the words aloud or answer your texts.

When you like someone, it’s easy to lower your standards or widen your boundaries without even realizing. After all, you don’t want to chase them away.

Relationships are about give and take. You should both be putting effort into loving each other right. Of course, sometimes one person is going to be doing more than the other.

You should be proud of yourself for walking away from a toxic relationship when it would have been so much easier to stay.

Don’t wait a lifetime for them to propose.

Avoid people who doubt you. Who tell you to dream smaller. Who act like your goals are unachievable.

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in a relationship with her. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve said those three little words in the past. What matters is whether you say them today.