10 Ways to Recharge Your Relationship in One Minute a Day
People all the time ask us, “What is the secret to keeping love alive over time?”
The answer lies in maintaining the awareness that the three love connections - “head, heart and hormones” - require conscious and consistent feeding.In the beginning of relationships, romantic love is fueled by the chemicals in our brain. We don’t have to put forth effort to create the magic that exists. Studies by Rutgers University anthropologist Helen Fisher, one of the leading experts on the biological basis of love, have shown the brain has an “in love” phase that persists for an explicit time period. Spikes of dopamine and norepinephrine create feelings similar to being addicted to drugs. Brain scans show that being “in love” lights up the same parts of the brain as when a drug addict gets high.
“Romantic love is an addiction.” - Helen Fisher
Unfortunately that automatic high doesn’t last. After a period of time, the reaction fades and the brain doesn’t sustain this way of responding.The good news is that what we do and the way we think can stimulate these hormones. When we intentionally think loving thoughts or do loving acts, we fuel the release of these chemicals.Creating habits of actively loving your partner in thought and deed will feed and sustain love for a lifetime. It doesn’t require a lot of time. Even one minute a day will do.What’s vital is to stay aware of the need to express and demonstrate love in the little things we do everyday. In our busy world it’s easy to forget or take each other for granted or put everything else first; when this happens, love will wither and even starve to death.When you stay aware and feed the connections, they will grow. Doing small acts of love every day will keep your love awake and alive. Here are 10 ways to do just that:
- Express love - Look your partner in the eye and tell him you love him.
- Be positive - Increase your awareness of your negative thoughts and reframe them as positive ones.
- Express appreciation - Catch your partner doing the right things and let her know you are grateful.
- Let go of criticism - Bite your tongue about the little things and let them pass.
- Listen - Have conversation and focus on understanding your partner’s point of view.
- Pay attention - Hear what would make your partner feel special and do that.
- Acknowledge - Tell your partner that you see all of his efforts and how hard he works for you.
- Be silly - Let your hair down and do something spontaneous.
- Give compliments - Find things you genuinely admire about your partner and tell her.
- Express gratitude - Focus on what you are grateful for and share that with the one you love.
Keep this list with you and look at it once a day. Small acts of love will make a big difference.Image Copyright wavebreakmediamicro