I was reading an article by Matthew Hussey from Get the Guy, and loved his note about relationships.

“Many people say that if a relationship is right, it should be easy. Though it’s true that if your relationship is too much work it probably isn’t right, it doesn’t mean that a good relationship won’t require effort. The sad truth is that most people bring their best selves on day one to the stranger, and a much lazier more negative version on day 365 with the person they love.”

Wow! Hit the nail on the head. Lets look at just relationships themselves.

We start off making an effort to be on the best behavior, care about what we look like, wear our best underwear and are willing to negotiate our time, emotions and experiences for that person.

Then comfortability sets in. We burp, fart, walk around in our sloppy Joe’s, lingerie and nice boxers becomes non-existent and the granny knickers and holy jocks come out along with the tracksuits, and our levels of tolerance decrease while our sarcasm increases.

That’s just the effects of routine. We haven’t even talked about what happens after kids!

So here goes with some quick tips to keep the passion in your relationship:

1. Dating

Since when is it ok to stop dating ever?

That’s right, never stop dating your partner. It is imperative to the health, wellbeing and longevity of your current relationship.

I can see you now rolling your eyes at the concept of date night. I’m not talking about the same night every week, eating at the same restaurant, having the same boring conversation.

Mix it up! Different days, different venues, different events. Try movies, dinner, day dates at a winery, special event venues in your city, go to the zoo or museum, theatre, comedy (highly recommend this one), night picnic on the beach, sporting event (you both like fellas), or even a night away at a hotel (guaranteed to spice it up).

For those with kids, you are not a bad parent for leaving them at home while you go out with the person YOU chose to be with for the rest of your life. By putting your relationship last on your list you are actually doing your entire family an injustice.

By having a loving, intimate relationship in front of your children you are teaching them the best life skills for a future successful relationship

(pssst…kids know when your faking it).

2. Grooming

This covers hair, face, how you dress and intimate body parts landscaping!

Ooohh I just felt another eye roll.

Oh my god, you want me to wax or shave during winter? Since when it is ok to let yourself go? Obviously we are happy to do this as a deterrent to make sure your partner doesn’t come near you, but if your reading this article I’m hoping you actually WANT some attention from your other half. Are you cool with going down there when the forest has come to town? No? Well why should they feel any different?

The benefit to taking some care in your appearance is it will boost YOUR self esteem and trust me, that new found confidence will snowball into every part of your life and wait ’til your see how your life changes for the better!

3. Kissing

200 times more powerful then morphine. That’s why it’s the drug of choice for women.

For those who have had a slowdown or full blown stop in their intimacy within their relationship, I recommend you try the 5 minute challenge taken on by so many of our customers recently.

For 5 minutes every day for a week, kiss, not peck, your partner passionately and watch how that libido that had taken a vacation is stirred like the underlying giant it is!

4. Be Selfless

Take a mental note of things your partner likes.

Everything from food, what you wear, how you do your hair, when they comment when you touch or kiss them a certain way, events they spark an interest in on TV, things they want to do, things they mention they like or their fantasies.

Ladies, it also doesn’t hurt to remind him of ways he can make you happy, as guys love roadmaps!

5. Special occasions

These deserve special experiences no matter how long you have been together.

Nothing is more of a relationship deflator when your birthday, anniversary or holidays come around and it is a non-event.

We are not saying go out and splurge on something you can’t afford. One of the best gifts you can give your partner is simply your time!

Go on a day trip to a place neither of you have been to before or go learn something new together. By doing something like this you not only get QUALITY time together but also you have just created a new point of connection and conversation. It doesn’t get any better then that.

Image of  “couple” from Shutterstock