Relationships Take Work

Healthy relationships — like tending a garden, maintaining a fitness routine, or learning a new skill — need to be nurtured through both action and words. That’s why it’s so important to make an effort to keep a relationship fresh and exciting even after many years. It truly is the simple pleasures and everyday happiness that will help that initial spark stay strong for a long time.

Here are some ways in which you and your partner can nourish your relationship year-round:

1.   Develop Your Own Unique Daily Rituals

Starting the day with a walk together, give a quick phone call at lunch to say “hello”, snuggling in bed before sleep…these kinds of small rituals will boost your feelings of daily emotional connection with one another.

2.   Create New Experiences Together

You love chocolate? Awesome, go to a chocolate-making class. Your partner loves being outdoors? Plan an adventurous canoeing weekend. It is important to remember how much fun it is just to be together. Be intentional!

3.   Build Special Memories at Home

What about turning your home into a romantic spa and giving each other a massage with some exotic oil? Make your partner’s favourite risotto for dinner. Have a conversation and learn about each other as if you were meeting for the first time: the rule is no talking about house chores or mortgages!

4.   Recreate First-Date Romance

Do you remember the butterflies in your stomach on your first date? Make a visit to the place where you met and where you had your first date. Bring the same curiosity in learning about your partner even though you may have known them for years.

5.   Write Love Letters

Time to dig out some fine paper and tell your partner how much you adore them. You can also send surprise love notes leading up to an important celebration or an anniversary. Words of affirmation can be a powerful love language. The focus is on your partner as they are, not on what you want them to be.

6.   Do a Common Project

Make a photo album of your trip to Hawaii last summer? Shop for new lighting for your bedroom? Enjoy the process rather than focusing on the final product.

7.   Bond Through Affection

Physical touch like hugging and kissing increases oxytocin levels, the so-called "love hormone" that deepens bonding and attachment. A shower together? Be playful and explore!

Now, you can make every day as romantic as Valentine’s Day!

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This article was written by Shirley Hung during their time at Shift Collab.