Loving partner not always good

A loving partner may or may not help you keep on track — say when you want to stick to your jogging or studies.

A loving partner may or may not help you keep on track — say when you want to stick to your jogging or studies.

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According to a new study, sometimes, the support a significant other offers in pursuing goals can weaken the resolve to work towards those goals and cause procrastination before getting down to work.

Study authors and psychological scientists Gráinne M Fitzsimons of Duke University and Eli J Finkel of Northwestern University call this phenomenon “self-regulatory outsourcing”. It is the unconscious reliance on someone else to move your goals forward, coupled by a relaxation of your own effort.