“3 Principles to Keep Love Alive:

1. The act of loving is gratifying for both the lover and the loved one.

The state of being in love is passive and easily dissolves into an internal fantasy about being in love. This fantasy gradually becomes a substitute for actual love. The act of loving involves behaviors that keep a close relationship alive and vital

2. Maintain your individuality and appreciate your partner’s individuality.

When you know someone well or long, it is easy to lose sight of them as an individual person. Therefore, it is important to respect your partner by encouraging his or her unique interests and personal goals, independent of yours. This means being sensitive to your partner’s wants, desires, and feelings, and placing as much value on them as you do on your own. It means regarding your partner separate from any expectations you may have or any role he or she may be fulfilling in relation to you.

3.     Ignore your critical inner voice

To varying degrees, we all have an enemy within, a part of ourselves that operates inside our heads much like a malicious coach, criticizing us and offering up bad advice. This enemy, with its destructive point of view, is your critical inner voice. It supports your defenses, which wouldn’t be a bad thing except that, for the most part, your defenses are archaic. And lastly, when we are romantic, we can ignore our critical inner voice when it tries to influence us to defend ourselves and not be loving and vulnerable.

PsychAlive