Being in a relationship isn’t easy, after all it involves another human being. Loving someone almost as much, if not more than yourself can be a daunting task, and it is something that decides the course of entire relationships. A healthy balance between your work and personal life can be something that proves crucial to all your future relationships, having that sense of stability helps run things in the long run. The world is a cold and scary place, and being alone can feel emotionally draining and demands all your effort just to stay sane. Verbally telling your partner that you love them is the cornerstone of any healthy relationship, it becomes necessary to remind people just how much they are cherished and admired by the ones closest to them. But sometimes, verbal reminders are not nearly enough. Gestures are how we express our deepest emotions, and if you care about your partner as much as you should, do more than just telling them that you love them.
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Showing your love need not be that difficult
Here are thirteen ways of showing your love to let your SO know that you love them:
- Give them your undivided attention
Your partner deserves your undivided attention, when you can afford to do so. Nothing says ‘I love you’ more than making sure your partner is a top priority, and how their physical and mental health means more to you than most things. Make sure that your mind isn’t roaming somewhere halfway across the world when you’re talking to them, because they will undoubtedly be able to tell if you’re paying attention to them.
- Write something for them
Write a poem or a song for them, you don’t need to be actually good at it to make them happy. Simply knowing that you spared the effort is enough to make their hearts fill with adoration for you, bonus points if you actually do a good job of it. It’s as Robin Williams from Dead Poets Society says, language and poetry were made to woo women, or in this case whoever you love and cherish! If you genuinely want to improve, because you think your partner deserves better than the monthly poet, try forums like hellopoetry.com.
- Respect their beliefs
You should always respect your partner’s beliefs and principles to the best of your ability, life is hard enough as it is without you trying to nitpick and dissect the very things that provide them comfort. Rejoice in the idea that you’re in love with someone with a different perspective towards life, and who knows, they might end up teaching you something. Life is a constant learning experience, and who better to learn it from than someone you admire above all? Humility is key to any relationship, or life in general.
- Spent some alone-time with them
Make sure they mean the world to you by spending the adequate amount of alone-time with them. Go on a quiet drive, sit by the ocean with your feet dangling off the edge. Plan a camping trip, or a hike, or anything that gets you away from the bustle of city life and into the arms of your partner. The scope is endless, and your partner will love you all the more simply for trying. With nothing but the cool grass underneath and the stars above (if pollution allows you), it makes for a very memorable experience at the very least.
- Cook for them
Smash gender roles, cook them something! Make their mornings brighter by waking them up to a sumptuous and appetizing breakfast to start their day off with. Again, this is something you don’t need to be ‘great’ at, it’s the effort that counts. And hey, about time you start learning to cook. It’s an art in its own right and the only thing you need to master it is time, loads of time. Some say it’s easier when you cook for someone you love, why don’t you give it a try?
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- Encourage them
Be an active part of their lives, a buzzing bee of warm wholesomeness most of us need so badly. If they’re taking up something new, encourage them. Be a part of their happiness, and if possible join them. Encourage them so they can hone their talents and interests and be better at what they do, be the positive ray of sunshine which lights their darkest hours. Be their best friend, let them give you a chance to be a better person than you are.
- Communicate with them
Trust is something that every relationship is built around. Make sure you communicate your feelings with them so there’s nothing repressed, make them feel trusted. If possible, share your deepest darkest secrets with them, making them feel like they deserve to be the person closest to you. Let them know things your close friends don’t, make them feel special – because they are. The moment you start keeping things from your SO, you distance yourself in the relationship. It makes people feel like strangers, and an affliction that plagues quite a lot of modern relationships.
- Learn to apologize
Ego is something that you need to manage and tiptoe around very carefully in a relationship that you’re genuinely serious about. Save it for strangers and colleagues in your work environment, leave it at the door when you are with them. Most of all, learn to acknowledge your faults. Apologies and genuine remorse help people feel wanted and respected, their feelings acknowledge. Just knowing the fact that they are sane for feeling the negative things they felt because of your acts is therapeutic on its own, and even beyond the relationship itself it’ll groom you to be a better human being.
- Gift them
Money can’t buy love, hence a gift doesn’t need to be anything necessarily expensive. The element of surprise itself is the gift, and the gesture of appreciation that comes along with it. It could be anything between something in their field of interest to something absolutely random they might cherish, like a cute mug you saw on the internet and thought it would please them. It could be something as simple and as trivial as a cute bookmark, or framed-photo of the both of you. It won’t cost you much, and it’ll get the point across.
- Start a savings account
It’s always viable to start a savings account with someone you possibly might want to spend the rest of your life with. Managing the budget and deciding what to spend money on is an activity that will bring the both of you closer together. Planning trips and a luxury you can afford about once a month is an exciting exercise, especially when the both of you are trying to make each other happy and content.
- Make a photo album
Cherish your memories by clicking candid photographs! Get a polaroid if your budget allows, it’s something that will pay off in the long run. You do not need to be a photographer to weave your story into this medium, because ultimately it’s our best memories compiled together in a neat little book for all to see and be jealous of. Furthermore, it makes you look forward to new experiences, more memories and moments to capture. It’s something you look back to when you’re feeling down, it reminds you that life gets better and worth living.
- Listen to them
Make them feel heard, make them feel that their problems are real and important. Be the friend that even their closest and longest friends can’t be, genuinely understanding and caring about them. A romantic relationship grants you that special privilege, the privilege of having your opinions and your care mean the world to someone. Make them feel okay to cry, make them feel like you’ll always be there with open arms when they feel like they’re breaking down. Do not make them feel irrational, because we all go through tough times and the last think we want is our loved ones looking down on us. Tell them that it’s normal, and it happens to the best of us, because it does.
- Share your interests with them
Involve them in the things you love! This could be something as trivial as watching your favorite show. Be a strong influence in their lives and tastes, and vice versa. Share things that make you happy with them, as it further builds up on the trust which the relationship is built upon. Who knows, they might be more enthusiastic about it than you are, and might even heighten your experience of it? There’s no harm in trying, and you have all the time in the world to test it out.
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The ways you choose of showing your love to your soulmate says a lot about you personally, and the kind of person you strive to become. Relationships allow us the opportunity to be the people we want to be, and people we can grow to admire and look up to. What kind of human being will you choose to be?
Featured image source: Google, copyright-free image under Creative Commons License
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