Keeping the Flame Alive in your Relationship

Keeping it interesting can become challenging.

Here are the 5 most important things in a relationship in my opinion

Trust

To feel safe physically and emotionally in your relationship this is something that is earned and not just given.

Honesty

Always be honest rather than lie and risk it getting out at a later stage.

Respect

Treat the one you love the way you want to be treated, they won’t respect you if you cannot respect them.

Communication

Speak out when you have an issue, bottling it up will only cause more problems in the future.

Compromise

It’s not fun when you always get your way, let your loved one also have his/her say or meet in the middle.

How to build trust?

This is very important in any relationship, you can build trust over time it will not happen from day one.

Start by being true to yourself and your partner, talk upfront about issues and never hold back.  Try to always follow through on what you have promised or let your partner know there is a problem before it’s too late.

Example:

When you are meeting for dinner and you are running late, send a message or call to let the other person know you will be late.  Even if it’s 5 minutes this is a start in building on the trust, you will be appreciated for letting them know and score some brownie points. (This was one great trait of my now-husband when we started dating)

Do not lie, once you have and the lie gets out it is very hard to trust again.

Let your emotional side out, don’t be scared to show vulnerability as it shows that you are opening up to your partner.

Take some risks, do something adventures as a couple where you need to rely on the other and stand together.

Treat your partner the way you want to be treated.  This is one of my thoughts always, whenever I am in a situation that feels uncomfortable I ask myself "if it was my partner and the tables were turned would I be happy?", if not then I walk away.

The same goes for the way you talk to one another, if in a manner that you do not want to be spoken to then you cannot expect them to be happy with the way you speak to them.

Here are my eight tips for keeping the flame in your relationship going.

I have found over the years that there are ways to keep the spark going with very little effort.

1. Sneak a little treat into your loved one's bag.  There is nothing nicer than finding a little something special during the day.  I do this a lot when hubby travels when he reaches his destination and unpacks his bags he finds a slab of chocolate with a note on it.
2. Add an event on the mobile calendar that is set off at a time of your choice.  Make the reminder a message from you, for example: “Just reminding you that I love you more”
3. Leave little love notes in the lunch box or where you know that they will find it when at work.  From your heart is always best but you can find a lot on the internet if you type in ‘Love notes’, maybe they can inspire you to write something similar in your own words.  Keep it short and sweet.
4. Give a hug from time to time and make it an extra-long one. Studies have shown a long hug can be good for stress, blood pressure, and heart rate.  You can read more using this link. https://guff.com › the-20-second-hug-is-17-seconds-too-long
5.  When driving in the car place your hand on their lap, (that's if you are not the one driving).  Human touch also has some benefits, one of them being Dopamine which increases the pleasure neurotransmitter.
6. The most important one and that’s not only in relationships but the family as well as to say “I love you” we don’t always realize how important those three little words are.
7. Have a night dedicated to just the two of you, maybe a date night.  This can be a bit trickier as you may have kids to worry about but if you can arrange for a sitter once a week, or have older kids or maybe family members that can watch over them while you are out that would be great.  Go have a coffee and something sweet to share.  Go see a movie at the cinema or have dinner.  Whatever you enjoy together make it happen once a week.
8. Hold hands, who said this was only for the dating stages, I love holding my hubbies hand.  We often use it to let each other know we love each other. What! you ask one will squeeze three times and in return get three squeezes back or it will become a game of who loves the other more and an extra squeeze will be added.  Some silly fun and no one realizes what we are doing.

Is kissing important in a relationship?

Yes, Yes, Yes!! This is a fundamental expression of desire, it is the symbol of romantic intimacy, and should form part of a relationship.

Top two things needed in a relationship

Praise and Approval

Tell your loved one from time to time how great they are.  Mention how well you think they are doing in their careers or in a sport that they are involved in.

Physical Touch

This can be your hands on your partner's shoulder while they are seated, a hand on their leg or a hug from behind.  This is a way of showing you are comfortable, happy and care deeply for that person.

Relationships need to be nurtured.

Falling in love is the easy part, keeping the relationship strong and sound takes work.

I hope that these tips will help you, or maybe you already do some of them and if so “You Not Alone”!!

If you have not tried any of the above, give it a go and see how your relationship changes for the better.

Keep your flames alive.

Keep smiling and have a lovely day