1. If someone doesn’t want to date you anymore, you’re not right for each other anyway. You might as well move on to the next one.

2. Actions really do speak loudly, so if you’re being treated poorly, listen closely. Never overlook bad behavior, no matter how much you like someone.

3. People do change, but you can’t count on them changing for the better, necessarily.

4. There isn’t only one person out there for you or anyone else. You’re compatible with a lot of different people, and so is every person you’ll date. That can be a scary realization or a liberating one, depending on your outlook.

5. If you don’t hear from the guy or girl you’re dating within an appropriate timeframe, don’t make excuses for them. The truth is, unless there’s an actual emergency, no word is generally bad word.

6. Even the nicest people can be total assholes sometimes. We’re all a mix of good and bad, and the best people out there aren’t always angels in relationships.

7. I’m sorry, but there’s no one on the planet who’s immune to temptation.

8. It’s possible to cheat on someone you’re madly in love with.

9. It’s also possible to love two people simultaneously.

10. It’s even possible to love more than two people at the same time, in different ways. Most of us have a lot of love to give, which is a terrifying thought when you consider what it means about the object of your affection’s feelings for others.

11. Loving people outside your primary relationship doesn’t have to translate into sexual intimacy, but it can.

12. You’re both going to fantasize about sleeping with other people sometimes, but that doesn’t mean you care about each other any less.

13. If your sex drives are totally misaligned, it’s a serious problem—maybe not yet, but at some point one person will grow dissatisfied.

14. Faking orgasms is 100 percent counterproductive to establishing a fulfilling love life. So is faking pleasure in general, so don’t moan and groan just to make your partner feel better. Instead, find the courage to communicate your actual likes and dislikes in bed.

15. If you find yourself cyber snooping on your significant other or invading their privacy, you probably don’t trust them. Pause to consider why you’re doing what you’re doing before continuing.

16. The only two people who really know what’s going on in a relationship are the two people involved, so take every piece of advice you get from outsiders—even best friends and family members—with a grain of salt.

17. If you can’t laugh together, forget about it.

18. You might like the person you’re with more than they like you for awhile because not everyone falls in love at the exact same rate. It’s okay to give someone you really like time to catch up and realize just how awesome you are.

19. It really doesn’t matter who says ‘I love you’ first and you might just have to lead the way with the l-bombs, even if you don’t want to.

20. It’s just as possible to fall out of love as it is to fall in love.

21. If they won’t commit, it’s because they don’t want to. Not because they’re incapable of it.

22. If someone doesn’t think you’re worth exclusivity, one of two things is probably true: They don’t respect you enough, or they’re just not ready for a real relationship. Neither option is acceptable long-term.