| No. |
Comfort-Only Relationship |
Growth-Oriented Relationship |
1 |
Avoids hard conversations to preserve the peace |
Hard conversations are seen as the path to closeness, not a threat to it |
| 2 |
Both people stay exactly as they were when they met |
Both people are actively becoming more of who they want to be |
| 3 |
Discomfort is treated as a sign something is wrong |
Discomfort is treated as a signal that something real is happening |
| 4 |
Problems are managed or ignored rather than worked through |
Problems are worked through rather than managed or avoided |
| 5 |
The relationship is good enough and neither person wants to risk more |
The relationship is invested in and not just maintained |
