The course of true love never did run smooth. — William Shakespeare

The course of true love never did run smooth.

Author: William Shakespeare

Insight: We all go in expecting the storybook version—the moment it clicks, and then smooth sailing forever. But anyone who's actually been in a real relationship knows that's fantasy. Love isn't a problem you solve once and forget about. It's more like maintaining a garden: you can plant something beautiful, but it needs constant attention, adjustment, and sometimes difficult conversations you'd rather avoid. The friction isn't a sign you chose wrong. It's actually the price of the thing mattering. When you don't care much, relationships feel effortless because there's nothing at stake. Real love means navigating different needs, compromises that feel unsatisfying to both people, timing that never quite works out, and the vulnerability of wanting something you can't fully control. Some of the roughest patches happen between people who genuinely adore each other—they're just trying to figure out how to build something together. What Shakespeare captures is that expecting smoothness is actually the thing that derails us. We interpret turbulence as wrongness and bail. But recognizing that love is inherently uneven—that struggle is built in—somehow makes it easier to stay through the difficult parts. The course isn't smooth. And that's not a flaw in the design.

Source: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act I, Scene I