When encountering the phrase power couple, many minds turn towards celebrity relationships that through their combined financial/entrepreneurial success and stardom are the envy of every other duo just trying to make it in this world.

Blake & Ryan

Johnny & Tim

Mary- Kate & Ashley

Given that notion, power couples also by default make us think about relationships other than our own, as if being an accomplished pairing is strictly reserved for A-listers and red carpet walkers. However, when you think about it again, the concept of a power couple exists in a multitude of ways that even everyday people experience.

Urban Dictionary defines power couple in a variety of ways that can easily be found within many of the relationships we have within our own social circles:

A relationship between two people who are equally as cool as each other. They are as individually awesome and fun to be around as they are when they are together.

Cool couples wear even cooler sunglasses, right?

Most of us know that couple, that whether they are together or they are apart, are a blast to be around. Work, school, and activities that we are involved in always seem to expose us to that couple who baffles, and sometimes sickens us, with how perfect they are for each other. Each of them has a charismatic, intriguing personality that compliments the other better than you could ever think. Sometimes an unlikely pair, people like these give others the reminder that love is a very real, true thing that exists in a multitude of forms. We look for this primarily in romantic relationships, but also find it in siblings and friends as well. A power couple does not always have to do with collective net worth between two individuals. The so-called “power” can lie purely within positive relations.

Neither one depends on the other for their feelings of self worth--they know in their heart that they are just as valuable to the world as the other. Good looking, optimistic, and sparks a light in the world that people recognize that goes beyond a normal relationship.

Best friends AND grads- definite #PowerCouple!

Couples who motivate each other to pursue their passions, excel in their careers or schooling, or even push each other to lead a more meaningful, healthier lifestyle are also power couples. These reciprocal motivators also tend to be motivated themselves, seeing the value of their own contributions to the workforce, the community and beyond as integral to global society. When you believe in yourself, it is easy to believe in others. When others believe in us, it is easier to believe in ourselves as well. Partners in this type of power couple see the promise of the future in themselves and also each other. The power here exists in acknowledging one’s value to society as much as one sees the value of others.

In a power couple, if one person is flawed, the other person makes up for their weaknesses in strength. Together they are the epitome of what anyone would desire in a relationship. They encourage goodness in the world and make it a better place by being together.

Siblings--the ultimate dynamic duo!

My favorite type of power couple is the “opposites attract” type. It is fascinating to watch two people who seemingly come from two ends of a social, cultural, or educational background work together in a way that convinces you that all these opposing qualities belong together. Their chemistry and dynamic is so, well, dynamic that it begs the question “How do you do it?”

That’s easy. You don’t really do anything, it kind of just happens on its own.

It’s pretty amazing, actually.

In this type of relationship, partners with weak points turn to each other to make them strengths. They can look to each other in confidence that they will not be criticized for aspects of their personality or skill sets that they individually might not have developed to the extent that they would like. Couples become safe havens for one another and also teachers as they share their differing perspectives. It is also a powerful relationship, as they make each other stronger and want to be better people on their own, as well as with and for each other.

As much as we think being a power couple applies to what we see in the news, what we buy as consumers, and who we follow closely as a society generally obsessed with popular culture, gossip, and consumerism, the best models of a power couple really are found within the people we have living in our day-to-day world. Moreover, the real work of what it takes to truly be a power couple is not what we perceive as onlooker, but what happens privately between two people--friends, lovers, family--who want to be someone better individually, together and for others.

Forget about money, the media, and whatever other things signal a power couple.

Love: the most powerful and influential commodity we have to spread around and invest in whatever ways we please.

That special love between two is the real sign of a power couple.