6 Clever Ways For Couples In Long-Term Relationships To Keep Their Love Alive And Exciting
Don't ever let your relationship get boring, no matter how many years you've been together!
Unsplash There are a few things that feel better than being in love and in a stable relationship.
At the beginning of most relationships, there is a honeymoon phase where everything feels new and exciting.
You cannot keep your thoughts off your partner nor your hands off them.
You have similar interests and in most cases, agree on everything.
Everything is perfect until that day when the honeymoon phase begins to fade away.
As time goes by, the intimacy becomes less and the romance dwindles.
Without noticing, you find yourself in a gray area where you are confused about whether the end of the honeymoon phase means the end of the relationship or not.
If you are here, you might already be experiencing this.
Liven up!
Even though the honeymoon phase is over, it does not mean your relationship cannot be exciting anymore.
Here are some smart hacks on how you can keep your long-term relationship exciting and fresh.
1. Avoid routine
Most long-term relationships fall into a particular routine at some point.
Doing something in the same way at a particular time over a long period opens a door for boredom to step in.
This makes partners robotic and predictable thus killing the excitement and freshness of the relationship.
Change this by breaking the routine and trying new things.
If it is sex, try out new ways to spice it up.
Be spontaneous and randomly surprise your partner with small gifts, new food recipes, or go on dates.
Skip town together from time to time and you will be surprised at how you will have ignited the spark in your relationship.
2. Check in on their daily life
Long-term relationships have the effect of making partners get used to and comfortable with each other.
Activities that once meant everything to the partners, such as checking on each other at the top of the hour, are taken for granted.
It could be due to busy work schedules or negligence.
Whatever the reason, this can be mistaken as loss of affection or interest on your partner, hence driving a wedge in your relationship.
Make your relationship fresh and exciting by letting your partner know that you're thinking about them by showing an interest in their life.
Thanks to technology, you can call or text them at any time of the day to know how they are doing.
When they are off from work, simply asking ‘How was work?’ will suffice.
3. Learn your partner’s love language
The excitement in a long-term relationship fades if you do not know your partner’s love language.
This entails knowing how your partner likes to express or receive love.
For instance, giving gifts to your partner may not keep things fresh if your partner prefers spending time together as their way of feeling loved.
Take the time to learn your partner’s love language and tailor your ways of showing love to make them feel cherished and understood.
4. Tease, kid-play and make out
When the honeymoon phase is over, simple things like holding hands, pecking, kissing, or play fights feel awkward and dumb to couples and usually are done less as time progresses.
This is due to the adulting nature of couples at this stage which causes the relationship to become stale.
Rekindle the honeymoon phase by giving your partner a peck when you part or hold each other as you watch your favorite show on TV.
Once in a while tickle each other and engage in pillow fights.
Making out without going all the way to having sex will make you feel like teenagers once again.
This may seem stupid, but it reignites the fire in your relationship by helping to establish new connections with your partner and keep the sexual energy alive.
5. Revisit what you did during your honeymoon phase
Being together for a long time makes you forget things that brought and kept you together.
You also lose track of things that you used to do to keep your relationship fresh like dressing in sexy lingerie or doing adventurous things, thus losing the excitement of your relationship.
Relive those good old days and get the excitement back from those things you did together at the beginning of the relationship.
It can range from going for a hike to simply looking at a photo album or talking about those good moments together.
6. Take some time off
Being around each other all the time, especially in a long-term relationship is not healthy.
It brings boredom and a feeling of stagnation, which kills the excitement of the relationship.
To avoid this, take some ‘you’ time to practice self-care.
Plan a trip with friends, or go on a girl’s or boy’s night out.
This makes you miss each other and appreciate the time you spend together.
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.
In your case, not only will it do that, but it will also bring excitement to your relationship.
Final words
It is no secret that keeping a long-term relationship exciting and fresh is difficult.
However, with these smart hacks at your disposal, it is possible to keep the fire burning regardless of how many years you have spent together.
The ground rule remains that to do this, it will require continuous giving and effort from the two of you to make every moment exciting and fresh.
Kori Anderson is a writer who focuses on relationships, love, and dating. For more of her relationship content, visit her author profile on The Mind's Journal.