Keeping Love Alive
Even healthy relationships go through times of negativity, boredom and adjustment. We are human and we like our routines, but sometimes our routines can become a rut. Morning and evening rituals feel stale; family mealtime conversation is dull; sex feels more like an obligation.
When boredom sets in, you may be tempted to ignore those feelings and hope they go away because you don’t want to risk stirring things up in an otherwise good relationship.
But there is a danger in keeping silent. We need stimulation; and if our current lives are not stimulating, we will seek excitement elsewhere, potentially damaging our love relationships.
Healthy Relationship Tips
Here are 5 simple ways you can keep your love alive and fresh when you find yourself feeling bored and wanting more out of your relationship.
- Identify New Activities To Do Together
- Get Away Together
- Schedule Date Times With Each Other
- Discuss Your Sex Life
- Tell Your Partner Why You Love Him or Her
Sit down with your partner and come up with a list of new things you can do together that are different from your current routines. (Instead of watching TV every night, maybe you could play cards or take a bike ride or a walk. Maybe you could cook dinner together or read a book to each other. Perhaps you can take up dancing, join a bowling league, take painting lessons together, go golfing, or hiking.)
Plan a getaway to some place new and different, just the two of you, where you can experience new surroundings together. You could each take part in planning a vacation or a hiking trip or a weekend visit to the museums downtown.
Schedule a certain time each week to have coffee or breakfast together or meet for drinks after work to discuss what has been going on in your lives or to make the plans you need to make for the next week.
Is your sex life working ok for you? Too much…too little…too routine? What needs to change?
Remind your partner why you fell in love in the first place. Share the qualities you most appreciate in him or her. Mention specific details to keep it real and believable. Touch base mid-day sometimes, just to say “I love you,” “I’m thinking about you.”
Small Kindnesses Make a Big Difference
Sometimes we think that shaking things up in our relationship or changing our stale routines takes too much effort and thought. In reality, a small act of kindness can make a huge difference. A little gesture that shows you are thinking about him or her and care about your partner, or a small detour in daily routines, can yield immense benefits in all areas of your relationship.
Relationship Housekeeping
There is nothing wrong with your home just because you have to dust your furniture, make your beds, do the dishes and clean your windows occasionally. Every home needs regular maintenance and attention to sparkle and be a comfortable place in which to live.
The same goes for your spouse. Your wife, husband or partner needs to know that they are a priority in your life. It doesn’t take much time or thought to tell him or her that you are happy that you are together.
You don’t have to take all five actions at one time, but keep these tips in mind to maintain the healthy, loving relationship you already have, or to work toward that as your goal. The care you show your partner and and the effort you put into maintaining your relationship make will come back to you in buckets.
Related Reading: 50 Ways to Love Your Lover
Is your marriage or love relationship stuck in the doldrums or feeling stale? Short-term relationship coaching could be all you need to transform your relationship from “ho-hum” to that magical state of being in love all over again.
Marianne Clyde helps men and women throughout Northern Virginia create and maintain happy, vibrant, loving marriage and family relationships. For more information or to request an appointment, call Marianne today: (540) 347-3797.
