Although no two relationships are exactly alike, most do seem to have certain things in common. You meet someone, and the two of you develop a bond. Eventually, that bond blossoms into love, and the relationship moves forward. Those first few steps tend to happen easily and naturally for most people.

But sooner or later, every relationship starts requiring more work and effort. Every relationship also goes through lulls and slow patches from time to time. The key to making it through in one piece is understanding why stagnation happens in the first place and taking action.  Here are some possible reasons why relationships stagnate.

1.      Your finances aren’t in order

While it’s true that money isn’t everything, it’s still pretty darned important. Without enough money, your options in life are limited. This includes your relationship. A lack of money makes it hard to think seriously about milestones like moving in together, getting married, or starting a family. And if a relationship can’t move forward on schedule, it can quickly stagnate, so keep that in mind when managing your money.

Make sure you’re saving for the future. And consider factors like financial stability and money savviness when choosing your partners in the first place. After all, progress is much easier to make with a financially astute sugar daddy than with an emotionally immature partner who insists money doesn’t matter.

2.      You’re afraid of commitment

Even for a sugar baby and sugar daddy who are madly in love and excited to be together, commitment can be a scary issue to consider. This is especially the case if one or both of you have been badly hurt in the past by another partner. But it can also be true if either of you still has things you’d like to experience before settling down.

Choosing to commit to one person for the rest of your life means giving up the chance to ever be with a new person again. It could also mean never getting to experience certain things, as well as making sacrifices you never thought you’d need to make. But it’s also important to remember what you’d gain by taking that step – a loving, loyal partner to go through life with.

3.      You’re taking things for granted

As a rule, sugar babies and sugar daddies tend to be more self-aware than average when it comes to dating and relationships. But even the best of us is only human, so there may always be moments where you take things for granted and forget just how lucky you are to have each other. When that happens, it’s all too easy for a relationship to slow down or even stagnate.

The only real cure for this is to start consciously and actively acknowledging how your partner improves your life. (Grab a pen, sit down, and make a dedicated list if you have to.) What would your life look like the next day if your partner vanished overnight?

4.      You’re overdue for a talk about the future

While some couples may well become couples when they sit down, talk things out, and definitively decide that’s what they want to be moving forward, that’s not the case for everyone. Some people just quietly drift into the state of couplehood. However, while there’s really no wrong way to be together or enjoy your lives together, it’s still important to talk about the future.

You don’t necessarily need to sit your sugar daddy down and demand that he put a label on what the two of you have. But your relationship needs to have direction, and talking about what you want your future together to look like is part of that. Otherwise, it’s easy for things to stall and stop making progress.

5.      There are issues to be resolved

Sooner or later, every relationship runs into issues. If one person feels like the other isn’t making enough effort, resentment can develop. Sometimes one or both partners have trouble opening up. People can also wind-up cheating, lying, or otherwise hurting one another, as well.

But while none of these things necessarily spells the end for a relationship, failing to talk things out can definitely bring relationship progress to a halt. You likely already know whether a problem like this is present in your relationship, so be sure to address it if there is. Enlisting the help of a relationship therapist is a good idea, as well, especially if you’re not sure where to start.

At the end of the day, a stagnant relationship can happen to any sugar baby or sugar daddy. But it’s totally possible to recover strong and power ahead with enough patience, dedication, and love. You just need to be willing to do the work.