Sometimes even the best relationships have hiccups. As couples go through their ups-and-downs, it’s important not to let our ‘downs’ become disastrous. Here are a few tips to smooth the ride and avoid a breakup-worthy disaster:
1. Recognize that work can be a danger zone.
- Don’t have lunch or take coffee breaks frequently with the same person.
- Don’t get into discussions around the water cooler with co-workers that you find attractive.
- When you travel with a co-worker, meet in public, not in a room with a bed.
- At the office party, pretend the coworker who’s flirting with you has gonorrhea, then talk about your happy relationship, or better yet, talk to someone else.
2. Minimize your alcohol and drug intake when you’re not with your significant other.
Skip that third beer when you’re out with the guys, or the second martini with work colleagues. Mistakes happen more frequently when you’re not thinking clearly. We all know that unintended hookups happen when alcohol is involved. Bad ideas somehow become irresistible, and in the morning you’ll have to deal with the damaging consequences.
3. Avoid emotional intimacy with attractive alternatives to your committed relationship.
Resist the desire to rescue an unhappy soul who pours their heart out to you. Emotional disclosures are the first step to building an inappropriate emotional bond that could end up in an affair. Most affairs aren’t planned, and they’re often with people less physically attractive than their spouse.
4. Protect your marriage by discussing relationship issues at home.
If you do need to talk to someone else about your marriage, be sure that person is a friend of the marriage, and not someone you find attractive. If the friend is knocking marriage in general, respond with something positive about your own relationship.
Cheaters say the danger developed because emotional intimacy grew over time with someone they worked with.
5. Don’t go over the line when you’re on-line with Internet friends.
Discuss your online friendships with your partner and show him/her your email if they’re interested. Invite them to join in your correspondence so your Internet friends won’t get any wrong ideas. And definitely don’t exchange sexual fantasies online (i.e., don’t be an Anthony Weiner!).
6. Keep old flames from reigniting.
If a former lover is coming to the class reunion, invite your partner to come along. If you value your marriage, think twice about having lunch with an old flame.
7. Make sure your friends are supportive of your marriage.
Surround yourself with friends who are happily married and who don’t believe in fooling around.
A lot of people would deny the fact that cheating over messaging is still cheating. Even if you don’t physically touch the person, it’s still cheating to be sexting with other women.
The funny thing about infidelity is that men could go to great lengths to conceal that fact that they’re cheating. I caught my man cheating so many times, only to deny the relationship with that woman. One day he’d say they’re very close friends, one day he’d say she has a crush on him and he can’t really do anything about it, then one day I’ll just realize that I’m really being cheated on and being told hundreds of lies every day. There’s no way you can make a cheater avoid cheating. They’ll do it in every opportunity that arises.
Friends play a vital role in cheating, sometimes they’re the ones who urge it.
Old flames. huh. ? My husband is like BFFs with his ex for years now.
Some people need to know what the real definition of cheating is. Others would deny the fact that they’re cheating by saying such an act isn’t cheating. Others debate that cheating only happens when something physical happens and anything emotional or something that only occurs within the mind isn’t cheating at all. Cheating starts in our minds, even before the body recognizes the fact that you’re already drawn to someone else other than your partner. But let me clear that out, so cheating starts when I think I like someone else? But what if that person doesn’t like me back? Is that still cheating even if we’re not in any mutual relationship? Yes, that’s still cheating.
I agree, people have different definitions of cheating just to justify it!
Beware of your man’s “girl friends”…
I don’t want to sound bitter but whoever needs this article is a cheater who is in denial.
Wanna know what’s the real effective way to stop infidelity? It’s to STOP THINKING ABOUT IT. Even if you do all these steps just to stop yourself from cheating on your wife but you’re always thinking about cheating and just the fact that you feel like you have to “avoid” it is already wrong. When you really care about someone, there’s not an ounce of feeling that any infidelity is going to happen. When you’re not thinking of cheating on your partner, it shouldn’t be one hell of a struggle to keep yourself from doing it.
Hahahaha, #REALTALK!!!!
What the heck though, why would you meet up with a co-worker in a room with a bed? ?
I’m just wondering if some of you still believe that cheaters can stop cheating at some point in the future?
I think they can. Cheating is sometimes a sign of immaturity. So once they mature, they could stop.