Making a relationship work for the long haul takes a great deal of time and effort and while it might seem hard from time to time, it is almost always worth it in the end. If you’re dealing with a long distance relationship, however, things can feel a great deal more difficult and over the years, it can feel like you’re going up against one building block too many. For a long distance relationship to work, it has to be approached in an entirely different way to a “normal” partnership. Simply meeting up with your significant other every several weeks is not always enough to let them know how much you care about them over a long period of time. Want to be in it for the long haul? It’s all about how you act when you’re apart.
- Keep Communication Normal
While regular communication is all part and parcel of a healthy relationship, you don’t need to be on your phone to your significant other for all waking hours to let them know that you really care about them. Sticking to a regular conversational routine is a great way of checking in without overwhelming your loved one. Sending a good morning and goodnight text is absolutely fine, but you might want to keep deeper conversation for the evenings, when you both have the time in which to communicate properly.
- Follow Your Own Passion
Living apart from the one you love can be incredibly hard and while you might always long for them, you can shift your perspective in order to make your life a little more simple. Seeing your separation as an opportunity to explore your own interests can be a great way of approaching the relationship, giving you the chance to develop yourself as a person. The stronger you become as a person, the stronger a part you can play within the relationship.
- Do Activities Together
Even though you might not be in the same town as your significant other, it doesn’t mean that you can’t spend quality time together discovering a new activity. Thanks to the power of the internet, discovering new activities or games online is incredibly simple and now, you can share your experiences with your nearest and dearest. You and your partner might want to find a new game to play together, coordinate your movie viewing or read from the same list. The more areas in which your lives can intersect, the less far apart the two of you will feel.
- Know When Your Next Visit Will Be
The crux of a long distance relationship is seeing each other in the flesh and having a concrete date in mind can help dealing with the time apart much more easy. Every time you meet up, try and determine the specific time when you will next see each other and commit to the date. Saying goodbye when you know you will see one another very soon will make things all the more easy, despite the fact that you might miss them in their absence.
- Have An Endpoint In Mind
If you’re really serious about your relationship, there might come a time in which you will want to cut the distance and settle down with each other. Continuing in the same scenario for years without a clear endpoint can make things incredibly difficult; distance is very hard to maintain over a significant period of time. Try discussing where you see your relationship going with your partner and gauge their thoughts. If the two of you are on the same page, then dealing with distance in the short term can become a whole lot more easy.
- Communicate In Different Ways
One of the best things about long distance relationship is that you can experiment with a number of different methods of communication. While you might typically use messaging services on your phones, you can try sending a letter or a parcel from time to time to really show them how much you care. Sending each other handwritten notes can often be a much more intimate way of showing your affection; communication doesn’t always have to be instantaneous.