I’ve never written on romantic relationships, but now I’ve gained some life experience to where I feel I can say an insightful thing or two about them. When it comes to having happy and healthy relationships both people involved obviously have to put in their fair share of time and effort. By being a guy, I’ve realized there can be a lot expected from him in treating his girl well. In the traditional sense, he’s the one who’s expected to first reach out to the girl, listen to her, provide for her, protect her, etc. These can be a lot of expectations placed on a boyfriend or husband. I’ve heard of several girls complaining that their man isn't living up to these standards.

While it’s true that women love to have their man do all these things, I’m here to say that if you as a guy truly love and value your girl, making sure that you treat her well should be one of the most natural things you do. Here are some ways to ensure that your girl will be very happy with you and brag to her friends about how good you are to her.

1. Be genuine.

There are a lot of fake people in this world; people who put on a mask or whom you can’t hold a deep and real conversation with. The good girls out there in the world—the one’s you’d want to bring home to mom and dad—are very good at recognizing guys who are trying to be someone they’re not. I know how guys like to come across as being confident and strong. However, if you can’t cut out the nonsense of attempting to be macho so you can impress a girl, no sincerely good woman is going to appreciate that. When a man is his genuine self around his girl, she can rest assured that he’s not using his bravado to impress her. She’s confident he really loves her because he’s sincere in his actions towards her.

2. Listen to her.

Often times it can just be the simple things that will make her greatly appreciate you. If something pressing is on her mind or she’s having a bad day, simply taking the time to sit down and talk with her, or just calling her will provide her with a great sense of comfort. By truly listening to her, you’re demonstrating your empathy and depth of care for her. What girl wouldn’t love that about her man?

3. Compliment her.

Words are so powerful. What you say can have such a strong effect on others. This couldn’t be more true in relationships. Women loved to be told they’re beautiful. After all, they put a lot of time into their appearances with makeup and a seemingly endless combination of outfits (at least that’s what it can seem like to guys). As her significant other, the least you can do as a guy is let her know how beautiful you think she is. Don’t overdo the complimenting or else it could come across as empty flattery, but assure her in letting her know that you think she’s gorgeous. Also, compliment her other qualities, such as her humor, kindness, or intelligence.

4. Respect her time and space.

There’s nothing better than happily spending time with the girl you love, but it’s important to realize she needs to live a life of her own as well (the same goes for the guy too). By letting her have her time and space, you allow your girl to have her own experiences, meet other people, and do her work. No woman enjoys being with a controlling and questioning man. In allowing her to have a healthy sense of independence, you in turn make the relationship more interesting as you watch each other grow.

There is much more I could say about how to treat your girl well but I feel these are good starting points. For you guys out there who are dating or married to a great woman, be very thankful for her. When you treat her well you’ll find that she’ll do the same to you. Having a happy and healthy relationship is an art. When you learn the skills of this art you’ll paint a beautiful picture for others to see.