You don’t have to win every debate or battle.

Being honest doesn’t mean getting your way.

You might even agree to do things you don’t like—and that’s actually okay, so long as it’s made very clear that you don’t like it, and that you have overt contracts.

You say, “All right, all right, I’ll go to your mother’s for three hours, but then we get to watch sports when I get home.” That’s fair, right?

Make sure you’re being respected.

Make sure it’s understood: “Okay, I will make some sacrifices for you—for this relationship—but there must be compensation so that no resentment builds.”

That’s a perfectly reasonable way to negotiate.

What ideas do you have when you hear all this, when you think about the things you’ve done—and what you could do differently—when you think of healthy relationships that don’t follow the “happy wife, happy life” mentality, what do they do differently?

Put your ideas below in the comments.

Let’s help each other out here with as many ideas as possible.

I would like to hear from women as well—those of you who are able to look past the pleasure of being constantly bowed down to.

The ones who actually want, you know, a real man.

What is it that makes you respect a man? Put that down in the comments.

To dive deeper into this topic, check out the original video here: