Relationships—they can be the best part of your life, or the worst. Deciding when you’re ready to get into a relationship is usually the easy part. You meet someone, think it’s love at first sight, share a few drinks, kiss under the moonlight, et cetera, et cetera. It’s not the first week that your relationship starts to feel the weight of the world around you. It might take months, even years, for something to drag it down.
But we all know the sad truth—what comes up must come down.
Now, the real question is: once your relationship starts to fall, how do you get it back up? How do you rescue it from tanking completely? So many people have tried to find the answer to this question. Love experts, young teenagers, parents, friends, you name it. There’s tons of advice for you out there on the internet and not all of it is guaranteed. But, lucky for you, I’ve searched through blog posts, scavenged up old studies and read through plenty of books—and let me say, what I’ve found is pretty extraordinary. Here, a complete list of the best tips and advice that will help you reignite the spark in your relationship:
Make Time for Each Other
This is definitely one of the most important things you can do to save your relationship. Just taking a few moments of your day and spending them with your significant other is so crucial. Whether it’s an hour long phone conversation talking about nothing, or a more intimate one-on-one date, the more time you spend with each other the better.
Go on a Vacation or Weekend Away
What better way is there to reignite that old spark than taking a romantic vacation away? Get rid of all the stresses of the world. There’s no need to worry about your jobs, friends, families or anything else, here. Just you, your man and some much needed adventure.
Communicate
What’s that saying? Oh yeah, communication is key. It may be something you’ve heard over and over again, but it’s so true. Talk to your partner. Explain to him why you feel your relationship is hurting and make a plan (together) to fix it. You can’t work on something if you aren’t on the same page—communicating your thoughts with each other will get you there.
Start a New Hobby Together
Fun, new, magical. Consider stepping out of your comfort zones and dive into a new hobby together. Whether that includes taking a few cooking classes, or trying out a new sport that neither of you have played before, doing this can really help your relationship thrive. There’s something great about trying new things and something even better about getting to do them with the person you love.
Be Playful—Get Intimate
Yes, I said it. Spice things up by having some fun in your relationship! No, this doesn’t necessarily have to be in bed (but, you know, that helps too). Start fooling around, poking fun at each other in good spirits and just simply live life together. You’ll feel an immediate sense of relief and happiness will be the norm instead of a rarity.
Focus on Why You Love Each Other
Clearly, I’ve saved the best for last. It’s so easy to forget what you really mean to one another when you’ve been in a long-term relationship. So, to help combat those negative feelings, try to remember why you love your partner. How did you fall in love? Was it his smile? His laugh? His amazing body? Share these things with each other! Compliments can go a long way and so can a small reminder of why you’re with each other in the first place.