how to make a long distance relationship work



Throughout my life I have been lucky enough to meet some exceptional people, who it seems that no matter how far apart we are geographically we never really grow apart. Distance may seem like a tricky thing with any friendship or relationship but as long as you have a strong bond there shouldn’t really be anything to stand in its way. Each time you meet no matter how much time apart will feel like no time has passed at all.


As it’s Valentine's Day I thought I’d keep todays post in theme and talk about something a little close to my heart...long distance relationships. I’ve had my fair share of experience with them and separation can make things harder, but how do you maintain these relationships? How do we preserve them and keep them just as special when we aren’t able to see one another as frequently as we would like to? When someone close in your life moves away or you yourself leave home it naturally quite quickly tests how secure our relationships are, but if invested in and there’s a strong enough foundation these relationships tend to last. I thought I would share with you some of my views on how I think you can make a long distance relationship work and keep it thriving no matter how far on a map you are from each other.







1.

communication
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Every relationship in our lives is different. You may talk hourly, daily or weekly but no matter how much or how little time we converse with our loved ones, communication is key in making any relationship work. The way in which you talk plays a big part in its success as receiving a WhatsApp message is nice but making the effort to video chat and actually physically being able to see one another makes you feel much more connected. From experience I find the relationships that thrive the most are the ones where there is no pressure on them to succeed and allow communication to come naturally without a rigid schedule. If you both care about each other equally and make the effort to speak, that person will still be just as important to you as when you were neighbours on a map.






2.

 acceptance
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When distance is involved you will both be living your own separate lives, but that’s ok. Part of what makes a long distance relationship work is accepting that you will not be in each others lives all of the time. You need to be each others cheerleaders and push one another to succeed. If you struggle to accept this and prevent one another from living your own lives you can start to feel resentful and that when tensions can rise. I’ve found that if you factor in the time to include each other in your separate private lives and make a conscious effort to; ask about each others days and listen to what you are each experiencing the distance will feel less and less and in the end you will become closer.









3.

 visits
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Leave aside enough time to visit each other. I found it easiest to plan significantly in advance as you can both sit down and look at each other’s schedules and see what days work best. It generally makes you feel so much better knowing when you are next going to see each other as it stomps out any uncertainties. Plus if you book in advance you can also save money on travel as long distance relationships can become quite expensive when visiting on a whim. No matter how much time you are able to spend with each other the most important thing is to make use of that time. That way you have the opportunity to do all of the things that other ‘ordinary’ couples might do.








get the look







4.

trust
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In any relationship you need to be able to trust your partner and being in a long distance relationship tests this to new levels. When living your own separate lives you’ll meet new people and be put in different situations. Jealousy is truly an ugly colour and as soon as you begin to question your partner's intentions or actions that’s when problems can start to arise. If you are honest with each other about how you are feeling and communicate selflessly there’s no reason for that trust to be broken.







5.

mementos
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Long distance relationships are hard at times and you are naturally going to miss each other but it’s important when this happens to remember the little things. I find it helps to have something to remember them by. Whether it’s a photo or something small that you can carry around in your person like an item of jewellery. That way you feel a part of them is with you in some sort of memento.






Any relationship in life can be hard to keep going over the years and when you factor in something like distance it makes it a little bit more tricky. It’s the little things that keep a relationship going the same as it always has been. It’s the late night phone calls or the funny messages and silly GIFs you forward to one another, it’s the time you listen to each other and support each other when you need cheering up, or the time you spend sharing in each other's success and accomplishments. Cheer each other on, don’t hold each other back and know that if a relationship is meant to be then it will sustain itself as long as you put in the effort.

Do you have any experience with long distance relationships? If you do I would love to hear about your experiences in the comments below and how you made it work for you.

Happy Valentines Day Everyone ❤️.

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