Long-Term Partners and Romance
A long romance can be special. The longer you’ve been with your significant other, the more likely it is you’ve fallen into a routine. Sadly, allowing yourselves to slip into patterns can be an easy way for the fun and excitement to drain out of your connection. You don’t need to renew your vows or take a lavish vacation to invigorate the romance in your relationship. In fact, most actions you can take right away are incredibly simple. Review these options and inspire your own journey to a more passionate future.
Hold Hands
Early in your relationship, it stands to reason you couldn’t keep your hands off your partner. Holding the hand of the person you love is such a simple gesture, and yet many people stop this practice the longer they have been together. If this is familiar to you, then there’s no better way to surprise your partner than by grabbing his or her hand. The more you practice this, the more connected you’re going to feel.
Interestingly, there is a scientific reason why holding hands is a great way to feel connected to loved ones. Prolonged physical contact with another person starts to produce the hormone oxytocin in both individuals. This hormone is responsible for establishing and securing bonds between people and is often called the “love drug” because it is found in higher quantities in the earliest years of people who have fallen in love. Hold hands and your brains will do the rest of the work!
Have a Conversation
The “how was your day” routine is a familiar one for those who have been in relationships for a while. Though the question might begin as an earnest one, a point comes when both parties stop fully listening to the answer. Though a bad habit to fall into, it is an easy one to break. Instead of discussing banal details of your routine, spark up a talk about a topic of interest. It doesn’t need to be some deep existential discussion, though this is also fine. The goal is to just chat.
Being around someone all the time doesn’t mean you really know what is going on in his or her head. Time changes people and their perspectives. By engaging in routine conversation that permeates deeper layers below “how was your day,” you can use curiosity to drive your romance and attraction constantly forward.
Romance Without Your Phones
Couples in the digital age have far more distractions to deal with than relationships of the past. Nowadays, people are glued to their digital devices. Whether you’re out to dinner or hanging around the house watching TV, it stands to reason one or both of you are intermittently looking at your phones. Sadly, this is a very easy way to start driving a wedge between you and the people in your physical proximity. Though you both might be guilty of the act, all it takes is one person to suggest a “no-phone date night” and you can see a difference.
Have Outside Activities
Couples who get along well will often do a ton of activities together. While you might not tire of your partner’s presence, it can be important to separate yourself to a certain degree with outside interests. Having hobbies and passions that you pursue without your significant other allows you the chance to grow on an individual level and always have new and interesting things to bring back to the table in your relationship. Learn to balance the time alone with the time engaged in common pursuits, and it can add robust new dimensions to your romance.
Though time is always going to impact a relationship in some capacity, you can easily do your part to withstand whatever is in store. Find simple ideas that work for you and start taking action to keep the romance alive.