20 Important Relationship Rules That Are Often Ignored

1. Be Honest.

Be nice, but be honest. Trust is vital. Trust is gained through honesty.

2. Compromise.

There’s a complexity to compromising.  With gender roles ever evolving it’s important to recognize it’s not about who wears the pants.  It’s about balance.  Compromise is an inherent part of a relationship.  You will have to sacrifice in a relationship.  That’s the nature of relationships.  If you want your way all of the time, stay solo.  It’s about finding a healthy balance in compromise.  Both people in a relationship must understand that necessity of compromise and sacrifice in a relationship to make it work.

3. It’s healthy to argue.

It’s healthy to bicker.  It’s not healthy to have screaming matches.  Some couples brag about “never fighting.” That’s nothing to brag about.  It probably means that one of you is holding something in.

4. It’s not your job to fix the person you love.

You can’t fix them.  You can only help them fix themselves.  You can’t resolve their work issues or wipe away all of their insecurities or get their parents back together.  All you can do is be there for them and help them through it.  Getting frustrated about your inability to fix your partner will agitate their struggles and strain your relationship.

5. Understand your significant other’s background.

It is important to recognize the person you’re with has not always been that person.  They’ve gone through things to make them that person.  Appreciate and understand their past.  Put them in context.  Maybe he doesn’t express his feelings because his family is not particularly expressive, or maybe she is so insecure because her ex was very critical.  Be conscious of this.

6. Do not underestimate the power of thoughtfulness.

Listen.  Pay attention.  There is nothing more meaningful or memorable than mentioning something in passing and then having your partner bring it back up later.

7. Do not limit expressions of love to grand gestures.

It’s impossible to keep up.  Fancy dinners or luxury vacations are wonderful, but love does not have a dollar value.  If given the option between a weekly sunset walk or an annual vacation, the majority would pick the weekly walk.  Money does not show love.  Gestures show love.  A free gesture also holds value.

8. Take all advice with a grain of salt.

Rule #13 stands, nobody knows your relationship.  Advice/tips can help, but only you and your partner know what’s right for you and your partner.  Don’t take any outside material as an absolute truth.

9. Research.

If you have a relationship question or need advice, the internet/books can be helpful tools.  There is nothing wrong with getting some perspective and advice from outside sources.

10. Value each other’s interests.

If you have different interests, which is perfectly fine, make sure you value what their interests are.  Even if vintage airplanes or nail art don’t interest you, do your best to pay attention and have respect for what your partner likes.

11. If you are not getting something you need, ask for it.

Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need.  Your partner is not a mind reader.

12. Do NOT get your sex tips from Cosmo.

13. Nobody understands your relationship.

And you don’t understand anyone else’s.  There are no exceptions to this rule.

14. Follow the Harry Burns Airport Rule.

Do not stop doing things you used to do in the beginning of the relationship.  If you used to take your guy/girl to the airport, still take them.  You should never stop trying to show your significant other that you care.  Nothing is worse than hearing “How come you never ____________ anymore?”

15. Spite will get you nowhere.

If the other person hurts you in a relationship, hurting them back on purpose will likely destroy your relationship.  If you feel the need to “get back at” the person you’re with, you shouldn’t be with them.

16. Split the bills.

Relationships should be even or close to even.  It is not a romantic idea, but it is fair.  Communicate about what you each feel comfortable with.  No one person should put more effort into a relationship than the other, so no one person should put more money into a relationship.  It will allow resentment and discomfort to build.

17. Accept that no one is perfect.

It’s about finding the right person, not the perfect person.  The perfect person doesn’t exist.  Everyone has flaws.  Everyone makes mistakes.  Prince Charming probably had one beer too many on occasion.  Cinderella probably spent too much on shoes.

18. Don’t be afraid to have the tough conversations.

If the relationship is strong and going somewhere, you should bring up the tough stuff.  If you’re falling in love but have some concerns, bring them up sooner rather than later.  It’s difficult to have serious conversations but it’s better to discover deal breakers earlier on.

19. Trust your instincts.

If you feel in your gut something is wrong, bring it up.  9 times out of 10 your instincts are correct and ignoring them will get you nowhere.

20. Be wary when discussing relationship troubles with your friends.

To a certain extent, it is healthy to discuss your relationship with your friends, but be cautious.  If you discuss every little worry, every argument, if you air every grievance, you will poison your friends against your significant other.  Find a healthy way/source to vent to that won’t backfire. 

Credit: RACHEL HARRISON 

25 Rules of Trading You Should Follow!

Even though fewer than 15-25% of all people who trade financial markets are successful over the long haul due to being un-educated about their investments or by consistently letting greed exceed need, there
is a small group of elite traders who consistently make huge profits hundreds of thousands, even
millions of dollars a year!

What is it these millionaire traders are doing differently?

This list of 25 "Rules of Trading" that many of these top traders follow religiously. We hope you
find them enlightening.

1 YOU MUST DEVELOP DISCIPLINE:
This may be the hardest "rule" to follow, yet it may be the most important of all. Without discipline, you will
be forced to constantly react to the whims of the marketplace, rather than controlling your fate and acting in
your own best interests.

2 KNOW WHY YOU TRADE:
There are dozens of reasons why people trade forex. Some trade to control their financial fate. Some like the
fast pace. Others like the "hunt" for a big kill. Whatever your reason, you'll trade better and enjoy it more if
you understand why you do it.

3 DON'T BET THE FARM (OR THE HOUSE EITHER!):
Futures trading can be very risky, so don't fund your trading account by committing money which, if lost,
could throw you into bankruptcy. Instead, fund your account with money to be used only for investing.

4 BE MENTALLY INDEPENDENT:
One of the keys to successful trading is mental independence the ability to free yourself from concerns that
might distract you from trading. That doesn't mean you should ignore your friends or family; it simply means
you should avoid putting yourself in a situation where financial fear or "static" from friends and family gets
between you and your trading program.

5 WALK BEFORE YOU RUN:
Don't jump into the markets before testing your abilities. First, try trading on paper, with no real money
involved. Also Demo trade because it's wise
to become thoroughly familiar with the mechanics of trading before graduating to a live account and/or
more volatile markets.

6 DON'T PLACE ALL YOUR EQUITY IN ANY SINGLE POSITION:
Many successful traders recommend keeping three times as much money in your margin account as you need
for any single position. Viewed another way, this means you shouldn't commit more than one-third of your
account balance on any single position.

7 DON'T LET EMOTIONS OVERRULE YOUR BRAIN:
Don't hope for a move so much that it clouds your vision. Hope is a wonderful virtue in many areas of life,
but it's often an enemy to forex traders.

8 SET YOUR GOAL, THEN TRADE TOWARD IT:
Profits go to those who act, not those who react. With that in mind, it's wise to decide your entry and exit
points, and your profit objective, well before you place a trade.

9 DON'T CHANGE HORSES IN MIDSTREAM:
You can and should make minor corrections throughout the trading period, but don't let the ups and downs
that always occur during the trading day affect your overall game plan. Unless the market conditions that first
led you to place your trade change, don't abandon your original objective.

10 DON'T TRADE TOO MANY MARKETS:
Many beginning traders feel they must stay on top of all markets, even though they only trade a few. That can
quickly lead to paralysis from information overload something even experienced traders can suffer from. Top
traders, on the other hand, stay focused on a select few markets and completely master them.

11 DO YOUR HOMEWORK:
There is nothing more critical to the process of making money in the markets than fact-based knowledge of
what's going on. Before you place a single trade, you should know the underlying trend, direction, what
triggered it, the current trading range, what signals you should be looking for, and what your trading
objective is. All of these require information that's readily available from a variety of sources. So do your
homework; according to our top traders, it always will be time well spent.

12 DON'T FOLLOW THE CROWD:
Historically, by the time the general public "discovers" a major market move, it's over. For that reason, most
successful traders feel uncomfortable when their position becomes popular with the buying public especially

13 NEVER ADD TO A LOSING POSITION:
When your position is losing money, it signals that you are out of step with the market. You are, in a word,
wrong! That doesn't mean the market won't eventually turn around, but it usually means it's time to exercise
extreme caution and begin applying proven money management techniques to conserve your remaining
equity.
Some traders argue that adding to a losing position is nothing more than "price averaging," but the consistent
winners view it as trying to justify the magnification of a trading mistake.

14 CUT LOSSES SHORT:
One of the most dangerous mistakes new traders make is failing to admit when they're wrong. Not so with
savvy, big-money winners; they try to take losses while they're still small, then wait for a better day.

15 LET PROFITS RUN UNTIL YOU HAVE A REASON TO CASH IN:
Successful traders let profits run until they see some indication technical, fundamental or both that it's time to
liquidate only because profits are available. They only close out a profitable position when they see and end
in sight.

16 WHEN IN DOUBT, WAIT IT OUT:
Trading decisions based on price moves or news items that occur during the trading day are usually poor
ones. Traders who make decisions based on such news are often whipsawed back and forth until their trading
accounts are in tatters. Generally speaking, developments that are powerful enough to move market prices
have a longer-term effect that will provide several profitable windows of opportunity beyond the start of the
move. So if you think a particular piece of news will move the markets, back away from your position and
take a fresh look before re-entering.

17 BE CAREFUL WHEN USING "STOP LOSS" ORDERS:
One of the smartest tools you can use is the "stop loss," it can help you cut losses if a market turns against
you. But place "stop loss" orders carefully, the top traders caution. Place your stop at the same time you place
your order. Don't place your "stop" too close to the current price, or you'll get "stopped out" before you have
a chance to make profits.

18 DON'T PLACE ORDERS "AT THE MARKET":
The only time a buy/sell order should be placed "at the market" is when you have to liquidate a position in a
hurry. At all other times, an "at the market" order should be placed at a specific price.

19 AVOID TRADING IN LARGE FUNDAMENTAL NEWS IMPACTS:
it's a tricky business left to the professionals.

20 ADD TO YOUR POSITION PYRAMID STYLE:
Never add more lots to a position than you had in your base (original) commitment to that market. If
you started with 5 lots, add 4, then add 3...2 and finally, 1 more shortly before you liquidate the position.
This "pyramiding" technique helps you avoid over commitment while optimizing profits.

21 BE PATIENT:
While there is money being made each and every trading day, that isn't how the millionaires make their
money. They recognize that profit opportunities vary wildly when spread over time. They wait patiently until
they spot the right signals, then enter the market with confidence. You can do the same and be well
positioned to enter the market during those times of highest potential.

22 TRADE DIVERGENCES FROM THE "NORM":
This is one of the strategies top-dollar traders use regularly to rack up big profits. The minute they see a
market beginning to stray from the "normal" expected path, they make their move. For example, if traders in
general believe the market is bearish, but prices rise through previous resistance levels, the top traders figure
it's time to buy.

23 DON'T TRY TO PICK PRECISE TOPS AND BOTTOMS:
Even the very best traders aren't very good at picking the precise point at which a market reverses direction.
Realizing this, they get out when they feel the move has lost its momentum and ignore the final few ticks of
the move.

24 SHOP THE ODDS:
Smart traders look for market conditions where risk is low and profit potential is high. For example, if a
market is trading near historical lows, it would usually mean there is far more potential for a bullish move
than for a continuation of the down move. This is the kind of situation in which new millionaires are created
perhaps you'll be one of them

25 TAKE AN OCCASIONAL BREAK FROM THE MARKETS:
If you trade each and every market day, sooner or later your judgement will become blunted and dulled by all
the action around you. When that happens, you'll begin to lose money. So ... take a trading break every few
weeks. Stay out of the markets for a few days weekends and holidays don't count and use the time to do
something totally unrelated to trading. You'll return to the markets refreshed and view the markets in a new light,

Credit: Babypips