Labor of Love: 5 Areas That Shouldn’t Feel Like Work in a Relationship

September 04, 2017 0 Comments

In honor of Labor Day, today’s post is a quickie about the labor of love. From our familial relationships, to our relationships with friends and coworkers, every relationship in our lives take work. Based on the nature of the relationship, we make conscious and unconscious decisions about the amount of work we are willing to put in with the expectation of a return on investment (ROI).

We tend to invest a lot of ourselves in our romantic relationships, with love being the expected ROI. Here’s the thing: when genuine love is present there are basic areas of a relationship that shouldn’t feel laborious. Here’s five for starters:

Communication: Spoken and unspoken communication should just flow. You know you and your special someone are in sync when you can speak with your eyes, when all it takes is a glance for your partner to know what you’re thinking. Now even the best of relationships may hit a hiccup in this area every now and again, but every exchange should not feel like a stressful day in the office.
Respect: When you care about someone you put the effort in to show them you respect them. You know their likes and dislikes and honor the boundaries they’ve set. If you find yourself treading on your partner’s belief or feel like you’re being disrespected in the relationship, there’s probably a need to re-evaluate the situation.
Support: Being there for someone you care about should be organic. If you’re attune to their needs then you’ll know what areas they need help in and naturally want to help out. If being supportive starts to feel burdensome then chances are there’s an imbalance in the relationship, with one person giving more and the other person taking way too much.
Sex: Love making is physical communication. In a healthy relationship, both partners should feel satisfied with the quality and quantity of sex. You shouldn’t have to come up with every excuse to avoid sex or engage based on feelings of obligation.
Time: In the honeymoon stage of relationships, you can’t get enough of each other. Finding time and sharing time should not feel like punching a clock.

Want a successful career? You have to put in the work. Want a great body? You have to put in the work. Relationships are no different but when it comes to love we often forget that there is labor involved. Love is not just about those feel good feelings, it involves action so get to work. We need more love in this world!