Living as a couple is not easy, and there is no doubt about it.
Maintaining stable and robust relationship ties requires a good dose of love, first of all, patience, a lot of communication, and a sense of humour to better cope with some complicated situations that may arise in the day today.
A happy, functional and lasting relationship requires effort on both sides. Both have to ‘want’ it to work and flow despite minor inconveniences.
We give you these ten little tricks to make emotional bonds stronger.
They are easy and can be put into practice at any time.
10 proven tips to strengthen your relationship
The small details
Often work, children, or our daily routines make us forget to care for our relationship and partner.
Most relationships evolve, and the spark, in the beginning, is not the same as when they take years of coexistence.
We have to try and pay attention to the small details because, in the end, they are the ones that reinforce the bond or break it forever.
Keep the flame burning
Take up those hobbies that you lived together at the beginning of your relationship, and ask yourself what you liked most at the beginning of the other person and what you fell in love with.
Put back into practice those little things that make you happy, leave him a note in the morning in which you write that you love him, send him a message to say something beautiful or prepare a special evening without a specific reason.
Surprise him and enjoy his face when you see how you do something special for them.
To bed, together
It’s nothing wrong if you watch TV or are on the mobile for some time while your partner goes to bed. Just don’t do it often and try to go to bed simultaneously.
Bedtime is a good time for intimacy — to hug, kiss, or have sex, but also to spend some time chatting about trivial matters. For example, plan a romantic getaway or trip or propose a dream that you want to fulfil as a couple.
The funny moments
Suppose you are going through a period in which things are shaking. In that case, it is time to look to the past but not to blame anything on the other, but to remember those moments that made you happy, in which you laughed out loud, or that meant a rapprochement between you for the collaboration you had.
Tell your partner jokes and anecdotes from when you were a kid, your family, and adolescence and listen to theirs carefully. Remember that laughter is an excellent way to be closer to each other and release tension.
Common objectives
Living as a couple means that you have a life project in common. Still, there are times when we go on one side, and it is not easy for us to meet halfway with our partners.
An effective way to strengthen the relationship is that although each one works for their objectives, you have some common goals that strengthen the bond.
I don’t mean only big projects, but simple and small day-to-day challenges to fight for together.
Why not work out together instead of going to the gym for an hour? Why not change the decoration of the bedroom together and share what you like and what you don’t want in that aspect? What if you consider doing a small marathon together or taking better care of your diet to feel more energetic and stronger health? Support, telling the other that they are doing very well and positively valuing each effort they make will be an extra dose of your love.
Put your phone aside
We use electronic devices long enough to continue doing the same during the workday when we get home.
We know that it is not that easy to take the sound away from the mobile phone or turn it off, especially when we haven’t finished all of our daily tasks yet, but when this is feasible, do it.
Leave your phone aside when you sit down to dinner and during the little while you are watching TV, for example.
Chat, comment on the series or show you are watching together and do not let anything distract you from what your partner says. We often need to listen more to the other so that our relationship improves.
Thank you
There are many times when we forget to thank something our partner has done for us. Say Thank you if he makes you dinner, if she has made you management that you could not or if he has bought you something that he knew you needed but that you had not even told him.
Your partner will feel important and valued and see that it is essential for you to do those things to feel better and happier.
Distribution of tasks
Many couples do this, but there are times when it is not so easy to carry it out, and one of the two ends up giving more than the other for different reasons.
The podcast Best of Both Worlds gives a small strategy to achieve it in a better way. First, you must write down your family responsibilities, and then it is commented on which ones you more and less enjoy doing to reach a point of agreement between which ones will be done by who.
More hugs, cuddles and kisses
There is no gesture that can substitute for a hug. Hugs help us when we have had a bad day at work, when we feel powerless, when we are sad and when we are tired or have a peak of stress.
Cuddle and hug your partner more. When you get up — hug him. When he returns home-hug him. When you go to sleep — do it again.
The same goes for kisses — a kiss is one of the most intimate gestures between two people. They display affection and make relationships more satisfying.
Never assume you know everything
Indeed, there are still things inside that you would be surprised if he told you about them, even though you have been with your partner for years.
Let yourself be surprised, and do not assume that you know everything about your partner. Ask questions, listen to him and know him a little more to be happier and more complicit.