Love is Hard Work But Certainly Worth the Adventure

After the initial butterflies of love have faded away, couples come to realise that relationships are spelled W-O-R-K. While love is the most rewarding gift that any individual can give or receive in their lifetime, keeping the fires of love stoked takes creativity, self-sacrifice and patience. There are a few key ground rules that you must stick to if you hope to have a life of love with your soul mate. First, you must never try to manipulate your partner into changing. Second, you must try to give more than you receive. Third, you must stay positive and thankful instead of getting negative.

Change

We are all changing constantly throughout our lifetime. Life lessons mature us and although our basic disposition tends to stay the same, we all look very different in the end of our lives than we did at the beginning. However, change has to come from the inside and one of the fastest tickets to an unhappy relationship is trying to manipulate your spouse or dating partner to change into the man or woman you want by your side.

Take a close look at your partner before you marry them. They have quirks, irritating habits, strengths and weaknesses. Decide if you can love the person for who they are from the outset. If you feel that you can only love them fully when they change, beware. Starting a relationship out in the hopes of moulding your spouse or dating partner into what you want will only leave both of you hurt and dissatisfied. Accept your spouse or dating partner as they are, or move on to someone that fits you better.

Give

Some people only think about what they can get out of a love relationship and they find themselves consistently dissatisfied. This is because love is meant to be given away, not only received. Instead of trying to get more love out of your partner, focus your attention on the many different ways that you can give love.

Whether it is through verbal affirmations, physical touch, practical service or any other expression, seek to pour love into your partner every single day. You will find that over time, all of the love you have given away will return to you in even greater measure.

Positivism

Even in the greatest earthly love relationships, nothing is perfect. For this reason, it is imperative that you train yourself to stay on the positive side of life in order to enjoy your relationship to the full. Love looks gratefully at the good things your spouse or dating partner has done, on purpose.

What you dwell on is what you will get more of in your life. For this reason, it is important that you dwell on the positive interactions you have had in your relationship. This proactive dwelling on positive moments will position you to experience more healthy exchanges in your relationship. Conversely, grumbling and complaining about your spouse or dating partner will only give you a negative air about you that will inevitably manifest itself in more negative exchanges.

Susan is a dating counsellor who advises couples and singles in the online dating world. Susan works for a company who let you search for singles who live nearby. If you live in the UK then why not try free dating London and meet like-minded city professionals, for a date at lunchtime or after work! For more information, please visit Lovestruck.com.