1. Choose a girl you like to be around

Relationships should bring happiness to both partners. Your girlfriend should be someone that you know can bring out positive emotions in you. Someone you can not wait to be with, when away from them!

2. Choose a girlfriend who demonstrates self-respect

You can't love someone else if you don't love yourself. So, pick a girlfriend who loves herself and sees herself in a positive light. Unhealthy insecurities usually bring confusions in relationships.

3. Prioritize emotional attraction, but don't rule out physical attraction

Emotional connections are very important, and so should be physical attractions as well. This will keep your eyes from wandering.

4. A good sense of humor

Laughter is part of almost every healthy relationship! Sharing a laugh is one of the greatest ways to form a quick emotional bond with someone, so the more you and your girlfriend can make each other laugh, the better.

5. independence

Girls, like guys, should have their own interests and priorities besides their partner.

6. Choose a girl who wants the same things from a relationship that you do

Keep in mind that certain relationships which may otherwise work out can be hamstrung by differences in each partners' priorities.

This is an introduction to a new series called Boy meets girl, which will be trying to look at the journey that males go through when trying to find a life partner.

This episode discusses some of the reasons why someone should think about finding a girlfriend.

Share your thoughts with me machona.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

Notes used:

Having a healthy relationship offers you consistency and stability. It may be more "fun" having a ton of girls texting your phone but it's a lot more stressful trying to make all those girls happy. Get a girlfriend and direct that focus elsewhere.

Although your single homeboys are making the single life seem awesome (as it is), having a healthy relationship with a girl can enhance your overall stability. Girls are the driving force of male behavior. While your male counterparts are out spending money on drinks, spending countless nights sending texts to numerous girls who aren't interested, you have better things to do. Having a girlfriend will allow you to direct your focus on things you enjoy most; such as your art, your career, or any other hobbies you may have.

After spending countless nights pillow talking with your girlfriend, you may begin to open up about your thoughts on the future and, more specifically, your future. Because you have someone who cares for you other than yourself, you now have a partner to join your "dream team" to combat each of your futures.

Your girlfriend is not going to be the same as you, in fact she may be the polar opposite. The two of you will come from a different culture, family and social background.

Okay maybe not cry, but at least one to lean on. So many mishaps occur for a guy in his early twenties. Whether it be getting arrested, getting fired from your job, or just being a complete idiot, you need that person around who won't pass judgment and serve as your distraction from destruction.

Some would disagree, but having a girlfriend is more cost effective for your wallet. In no way am I implying you grab some sugar mama, or start using some low self-esteem girl for her bank account, but more of a "utilize your resources" type approach.

I mean, who's really going to go see "The Great Gatsby" with you? Surely not any of your male friends. Having a girlfriend allows you to indulge in so many other activities that you can't do with your male friends.

Finally, this is the best quality to obtain from a relationship. We live in such an individualistic society and for millennials that means complete selfishness. Selfishness is an ugly trait and will only lead to bad things happening in this society.

Read More from Elite Daily

A discussion on the effects of social media on relationships.

Social media has proven to be a great tool in terms of communication and entertainment in the last decade. However, this wonderful tool also comes with some unwanted consequences for relationships if not handled well.

In this episode, we discuss some of the situations which can lead to breakdowns of relationships due to the misuse of social media.

These are just the few items discussed, please feel free to share more your own experiences as well so that we can discuss further and possibly come up with a Part 2 of the same topic!

Stay safe,

© Machona

If you’re planning to start a side hustle, here are 10 steps that'll help you get more traction, while you keep your day job and only source of dependable income.

1. Prepare for the Long Haul

2. Identify Your Skills and Areas of Interest

3. Validate Your Side Hustle With One Paying Customer

4. Differentiate Yourself From Competitors

5. Define Clear Goals

6. Set Milestones That'll Force You to Launch

7. Delegate Work Outside of Your Expertise

8. Ask for Real Customer Feedback

9. Avoid Getting Fired From Your Day Job

10. Build a Sustainable Flow of Customers Before Quitting Your Day Job

The best time to build a business is when you have a full-time job that covers all of your living expenses. Think of your regular employment as hedging against the risks you're taking as you test the viability of your side hustle.

Source: The Balance Small Business

Being in a successful interracial relationship requires much compromise and flexibility from both partners.

Here are the pointers that i got from Brinel, a good friend of mine from Kitwe, Zambia;

1. Do not expect your relationship to be supported by everyone on either side.

2. Respect your Partner's culture

3. Defend your partner when he/she faces racial hostilities in the best possible way.

4. Be bold when introducing your partner and feel free to move with him /her in public as that gives her/him confidence.

5. Compromise where possible but do not over compromise when uncomfortable.

6.Don't live to prove people wrong but live to show that it's Love that brought you together above all else.

7.Understand and respect those with contrast views as some give them out not to injure, but fear of facing a different culture.

This episode discusses my list of some of the attributes of the perfect partner in a relationship.

There is no such a thing as a perfect partner, but there are traits that would make someone more bearable to live with or spend time with.

The list of bearable traits would differ from person to person.

My list:

Whether you're trying to save money or just trying to get out of the same old rut, it can be fun to find new and interesting ways to enjoy your downtime. The first step to getting out of the same boring routine is exploring all of the options available. The process of trying out some hobbies you might not otherwise have considered can be an enjoyable experience by itself.

Say goodbye to watching TV like a zombie day in and day out, and say hello to having more fun, creativity, and wellness in your life. Consider 13 ideas to help get you started.

You don’t need to go to a gym to remain active. Instead, take a walk around your neighborhood or apartment complex. Seek out local trails that are for beginners and reconnect with nature.

If walking isn’t your speed, buy a cheap bike (new or used) for less than $100 and bike around your city. Better yet, if you’re in a major city, rent a bike for a day or two and see if it’s worth investing in the hobby.

Reading

Reading is a super cheap hobby that has a lot of benefits. It forces you to focus on something meaningful, can serve as an escape, and can spark creativity or inspiration. If you’re reading nonfiction, you probably will learn something new.

If you’re not the page-flipping type, try audiobooks. They’re like podcasts and you can take them anywhere and listen to them on a walk.

Instead of buying books, try borrowing them from the library. Many libraries continue to expand their digital selections, so the chance of being able to borrow an audiobook or ebook is greater than ever. You also can find many websites that offer free ebooks, though they tend to be older.

Writing

You write and write and write all throughout school and college, and when you graduate, it’s the last thing you want to do. Unless your job involves writing reports, you probably don’t think of it as a hobby.

Keeping a journal can be good for the soul, though. If you find it hard to vent to people, or if it’s difficult for you to work through things out loud, writing down your thoughts can help you make sense of it.

Beyond that, writing poetry, a short story, or even a novel can be an amazing creative journey to undertake. All it takes is a pen and paper, or software like Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

Cooking and Baking

Spending time in the kitchen can make some people miserable, but others thrive when they’re experimenting with different ingredients to make the perfect dish.

The best part about cooking or baking is that so many recipes are available online you don’t need a cookbook at all. You can choose to follow recipes or adapt ones to make them your own. The price is whatever you pay for the ingredients. If gardening is a hobby you enjoy, you can source your own ingredients.

Playing Games

Some board games might seem expensive up front, but the cost of games isn’t that bad when you think about the use you get out of them.

Alternatively, many classic board games have online versions available free or for very little money that allows ​you to play with friends or family in other locations. This can be a great way to stay in touch with loved ones who live in other cities or states.

Read More

© Thebalance.com

All friendships should be equal – which means that you should receive as much as you put in, it’s all based on reciprocation and mutuality. If you’re putting in more than you’re getting out, you should think twice about what they are asking from you.

Do you find that you just spend your whole time focused on them when you’re hanging out? Yeah, that’s not cool – we all have problems and things we’d like to talk to somebody about.

A definite no-no. Usually, people do this because they feel bad about themselves and want to use somebody else as a distraction. Draw a line over any friendships like this immediately.

Sometimes it’s difficult to analyse behaviour, but your emotions never lie. Friends should make you feel good, empowered and uplifted. If you leave them feeling like crap then you should probably re-evaluate the benefit you’re getting from the friendship. Some people, unfortunately, just like to bring others down.

It’s good to be a little competitive now and again, but like most things – you can have too much of a good thing. A friendship based on competitive behaviour is NEVER healthy or a true friendship.

This is one of the most common tell-tale signs and it’s also based on competitive behaviour. A true friend will want to see you succeed and be happy.

It’s usually the people who spend their time moaning about drama who are the ones causing it. You don’t need that negativity around you.

An absolute no-no. Friendships need to be based on mutual respect and trust. Don’t put up with that crap.

This is likewise for all relationships in your life. You should feel like they are unconditional and not based on you being or acting in a certain way.

Sometimes it happens and that’s fine, but if it’s consistent then it obviously shows that your friend is unreliable and much less invested in the friendship than you are. Maybe it’s your turn to bail on them, permanently.

This is malicious and absolutely nothing a true friend would ever do.

© Ditchthelabel.org

Discussing relationships and finances with Natasha Cholwe from Kitwe, Zambia. We tried to agree on how people can be able to work together in their relationships regarding divisions of earnings, savings and investments.

The recording quality is a bit poor because the episode was recorded over the phone.

Sometimes life comes at you in the strangest ways.

© Machona