The ingredients of love are like a good soup. Love is made of many ingredients that blend just right. No single element can serve as the whole meal. And it's hard to find a good soup recipe, isn't it? 

It needs special spices and maybe an unusual ingredient or two, like lotus root or rare mushrooms. Even everyday potato soup has carrots, onions, garlic, salt, just the right seasonings. Let's look at the ingredients that people who are most loved have:

Here are five traits of people who are most loved by everyone in their lives:

1. They are reliable

If you cannot rely on the person you love, then that person is not worthy of your love. And if your partner cannot count on you, you are not in an everlasting love relationship. Friendship means being able to say anything to your partner because you have that ease of being "best buddies."

Best friends never take advantage of each other. They are there to help one another. Any good partnership includes the same love you have for a best friend.

Being reliable often looks like creating a safe space in the relationship as therapist Lynda Klau explained, "[People] in lasting relationships create a safe space where they can each be open with one another, never fearing they will be judged. In your relationships, you don't interrupt, you fight fairly, and you don't name-call or make threats. You apologize when you know you should. If you're too angry to listen, you take space for yourself, breathe, and calm down. You know your partner is not the enemy."

2. They are trustworthy

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I am fond of an old — and trusted — axiom that goes like this: "People who cannot trust should not be trusted." Distrusting people are often deceitful. I have found this to be a reliable measuring stick for the trust issue. 

But my rule is to give people the benefit of the doubt unless they prove otherwise. You cannot truly be connected to someone you cannot trust. The warm, mellow feeling we experience when we trust each other is a large part of true love. Peace of mind in a relationship is vital to its stamina. And trust, like anything worthwhile, is something we earn over time, gradually.

How we deal with mistakes has a lot to do with how much people trust us, as confidence coach Lyssa DeHart suggested, "Often when we make mistakes, we want to ignore them and move on. Maybe we hope no one will notice, or if they do, we have a speedy response that often sounds like a redirect and an attack all rolled into one. Building trust is not about never making a mistake; it’s about full ownership of the error and developing a plan to correct the said mistake."

3. They are respected

First and foremost, you must respect yourself before someone else will respect you. When it comes to love, if you respect your partner just the way he or she is when you first meet without wanting them to change, then that's a good sign that love can prevail.

Whether respect can grow and blossom will determine the depth of your love. Respect can diminish over time, especially when you or your partner say or do hurtful things to each other. Whether it is verbal, emotional, or physical abuse, it will kill any respect, and lack of respect is one of the most common reasons for ending a relationship.

4. They are passionate

Xavier Lorenzo

Yes, that all-consuming feeling of pure lust, that euphoric, overwhelming, distracting, beautiful thing we call passion, can be spontaneous, or it can come on gradually. Passion either grows or dissipates.

Passion grows when you can be comfortable and uninhibited with each other. And you break down any barriers by communicating. Passion fades when you have resentment, anger, or contempt for your partner.

Once again, here is an area that cannot be neglected or taken for granted in a relationship. Keep it alive by connecting every day to keep the juices flowing, recreating passionate memories, and trying new and exciting activities together.

Passionate people are good a creating deeper connections as relationship mentor Janet Ong Zimmerman explained, "The deeper meaning of intimacy is found in the journey, not in the instant gratification mentality cultivated by society. This journey is a process of time and patience. You're beautifully simple and complex at the same time — simple like the shape of an onion and complex like the many layers of an onion's anatomy. Peeling back these layers of being to reveal the core of who you are fosters a deeper sense of intimacy."

5. They are communicative

You cannot feel safe in a relationship without communication, and this is especially true during conflict as shown by a study in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. You have to know where you stand, and you owe it to your partner to tell them the same. Knowing each other is the prerequisite to happiness in all areas. Communication is like that magic spice that brings out the flavor of all the other ingredients. Hey, that includes intimacy! Let your partner know it is safe to talk about fantasies and explore them.

Good communication can unleash strong creative energy between you and your partner. And with good communication, you can let your hair down and talk about anything. Not only does it enhance your partnership, but it also takes a big chunk out of everyday stress.

Compliment your partner every single day. Let them know that they are making a difference in your life and share your wants, needs, desires, and fears because nobody can read your mind, not even the one you love.

Dr. Ava Cadell is an author, counselor, and founder of Loveology University. Her mission is to empower people to overcome sexual guilt and shame so they can enjoy the benefits of healthy relationships.