What You must Never Do
While I'm not particularly fond of telling people what they shouldn't do, nevertheless, there seem to be a few things that have cropped up over the years that strike me as definite Things-Not-To-Be-Done.
Never lie to a partner.
I actually prefer applying this to everybody, but that's too tough a leap for some folks.
I thought this was pretty simple, but I found out that when asserting it, there is rarely a person who agrees right away. Most immediately start to hem and haw. Here's the trouble with that -- the first thing you're doing when you're hemming and hawing is looking for excuses to lie so you can have an escape route. We all want escape routes; no one wants to be held captive by having to say an unpleasant thing. But we shouldn't have to escape -- if we remember that of all the people in the world, our own partner is probably the least likely to be "out to get us".
But note that I didn't tell you what to do -- I told you what not to do. Big difference.
Nothing leaves people feeling more annoyed, more used, and less valuable than finding out they were lied to. If you don't have that stuck in your head, re-read this paragraph.
Don't tug on Superman's cape.
Please don't make me explain this one.