Lately I've been writing extensively about the reasons and ways men change from before entering a relationship to being in the relationship. Whether or not you fall into this trap ultimately boils down to your belief about what it means being in a relationship.

Many people change how they act based on the label that is slapped onto their specific relationship- "being in a relationship means I have to treat my partner this way or that way" OR "My partner SHOULD be doing _______."- This could mean that once you start a relationship, OR take a relationship to the next level you believe you are entitled to a whole other bag of cookies. Being in a relationship does not obligate either partner to do anything different or be any different than they had been up to the point that the label on the relationship changed. But, because of people's unchecked beliefs about relationships, all too often the expectations of their partner goes through the roof based on what they believe the label means.

This is a dubious endeavor if it is different to how you'd treat a person your dating drastically different than you would if she were your girlfriend or your wife. Serious questions to ask yourself are:

What is your concept of relationship? What does it mean for you to be married? What do you believe being in a relationship requires of you? What expectations do you have of a partner in a relationship?

If you have any experiences or stories to share around how the label on the drastically changed the expectations, please share… 

Credits: Photo courtesy of Khoi Nguyen IOHK "Pushed too hard, broke my love" (http://www.flickr.com/photos/khoind/3585453982/)