How to Improve Your (Love) Life
People always say don’t worry about the small things in life, but those people clearly don’t live in the city. Our fast-paced lifestyles tend to make us accustomed to being detail-oriented, otherwise known as permanently stressed out. It makes sense for some to say stressing out over every little thing will drive anyone insane because there really are some things we take too serious. The fact that my coffee only had one shot of espresso when I clearly asked for two should probably only bother me for a minute, but on a busy weekday it ruins my morning.
Small things that aren’t life-altering really shouldn’t get the best of us, but there is importance to caring about the small things when it comes to your love life. In the real world today, you have to multitask to survive. From running errands to working around the clock, it can be very easy to neglect your partner’s needs and completely disregard communication. After a while, relationships almost become habit, which isn’t necessarily good. Yes it’s nice that you and your partner have weekly date nights and sex four times a week, but if you aren’t communicating, bigger issues can arise later on by disregarding the small things.
My boyfriend and I are good communicators, but even we let small things build up. Here are a few small things we seem to disregard from time to time that you should keep an eye on.
He loves me, he loves me not
Lack of affection is something small that can be nipped in the bud if talked about early. In my relationship, I’m the busier, stressed out individual whereas my boyfriend is super laid back and just goes with the flow. If I’m pressed with a deadline for school or work, I tend to put our relationship on cruise. By that, I mean we still see each other, but I’m not all there. I’m either thinking about work, or talking about it to him without paying attention to our relationship needs. My boyfriend typically understands when I’m under pressure, but after awhile he’ll let me know how he feels, and I’m brought back to reality. You may not mean to put your relationship on the back burner, but if your partner points it out to you just be understanding and try your best to show more affection at the end of the day.
Mr. Not-so-clean
I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the cleanest person. Every morning, I try on seven outfits. Once I pick one, the other six are on the floor for a week. It’s okay to be messy when you have your own room, but when you live with someone you’ve got to step it up. In my mind, I have an organized messy room. I know the remote is under my magazine under my bed, but to others like my boyfriend, it’s a war zone. Your partner might not say anything at first because they don’t want to seem rude, but if they open up about your mess being a turn off, just clean up your act. No one wants to be perceived as gross, so maybe this is the extra push you’ve been needing for a spring cleaning.
Potential golddigger
I’d say I’m a modern person, except when it comes to the bill. I’m only traditional in the fact that you’ll never catch me arguing to pay on a date. Luckily, my boyfriend doesn’t seem to mind picking up my tab, but every now and then I can tell it annoys him. It’s small, but the fact that I expect him to pay bothers him more than paying itself. So there’s one of two things to fix this small dilemma. One, you can offer to pay or split the bill every now and then. Or, you can just show your appreciation a bit more and cook a special meal every now and then. A home cooked meal can pretty much cure any problems in your relationship
Paying attention to all these small things will not only benefit your love life, but also your life in general. We get so caught up in the big picture that we forgot the little things matter just as much. Sure, you shouldn’t sweat the small stuff that doesn’t directly affect your life, but if something like love is important to you, you’ll know that things won’t work without some sweat. Keep open communication between you and your partner to ensure you avoid letting the little things get big. So listen to Vanilla Ice, and just “stop, collaborate and listen” to ensure both a happy relationship and even happier life.
Born and raised in Northern Virginia, Christina aspires to be a public relations professional in a big city after graduation from James Madison University. In her free time when she’s not blogging away about dating and relationships, Christina loves to go shopping, watch Netflix and play with every puppy that crosses her path.