Saying you love someone can feel empty at times, especially without loving actions behind the words. Maybe you have never actually told your partner that you have loved them, and assumed that they have always known your feelings. Whichever end of the spectrum you are at, showing your love someone will help strengthen your relationship.
- The act of listening is a wonderful loving action to give everyone. Ask someone about their life, passions, wants and worries and genuinely listen and care. Don’t focus on how to give advice or the right thing to say, but allow yourself to listen and immerse yourself into the life of your loved one.
- Spend quality time with your loved one. Life gets busy with classes, work and commitments of all sorts that even if you see your loved ones, you may not be giving them your time full of your energy and attention. Usually your loved ones just crave spending quality time with you. Depending on your relationship, quality time may involve watching a movie, going on a day hike, chatting over dinner or making dinner together. If you find yourself not spending as much time with your loved ones lately, then make quality time for your loved ones.
- Give a genuine compliment. Unfortunately many of us get into a position where we take our loved ones for granted. You may have fallen in love with your partner’s laughter or are inspired by your loved one’s kindness, but over time you may forget to say that. Give your partner a genuine compliment and really show them how much you mean it.
- Ask their advice for something important to you. Asking for advice is a splendid way to show your loved one that their opinions matter to you. You can also show your vulnerability and openness to a partner by sharing one of your issues with them.
- Give a massage. After a tough week, sometimes a massage from a loved one will do the trick. Massage the areas that have the most tension and the places that feel most relaxing for your loved one. Commit to spending at least 10-15 minutes giving your loved one a thorough massage so that they feel refreshed for the remainder of the day.
- Give them something special from you. You don’t have to spend money to give someone a special trinket from your life or something special that you have found recently. Giving someone a sea shell from a recent outing to the beach can be very romantic. If you are willing, you can give your partner a childhood memento or something you created such as artwork or a poem.
- Send them an ecard. There are some free e-cards available if you look for them. Send a nice ecard to a loved one letting them know you are thinking about them or thanking them for something they have done recently. Your loved one will be pleasantly surprised to find something in their email inbox from you!
- Offer to help your loved one with something they need. Do the dishes, help to clean, babysit the children, help fix something in their own, take the dog for a walk. Whatever they need, offer to do it with someone and to put 100% of your effort into getting the job done. A great way to show love is to help someone with something they need to get done but haven’t the time or money to do it.
- Let them know they are right about something. Sometimes a bruised ego can prevent us from saying that we were wrong, and that our loved ones were right. You might be incorrectly assuming that your loved one knows that you understand that they were right. Let them know they were absolutely right about something.
- Make them a dish they love. If you can cook or bake something your loved one really enjoys, then surprise them with one of their favorite dishes.
- Introduce them to your other loved ones. As your love grows, introduce your partner to the other people dear to you such as your close friends and family. Introducing your love to your family can reflect how serious you are about them and the relationship. Your loved one will really grasp how much you mean to them by the people you introduce them to.
- Send them nice text messages. Text messages are very effective when you rarely communicate in that way. Send a lovely text saying you are thinking about them and how happy they make you.
- Do an activity they like to do. Does your loved one love hiking but you typically hate going with them and avoid it all costs? Or do they love crazy action movies with plots that bore you? Spend a day with your partner doing things that you typically avoid and try the activity with them. Keep a positive attitude and avoid complaining. Who knows, you might have fun!
- Create a homemade card. With the ease of buying cards and sending e-cards, try making your own homemade card. Add special things that remind you of this person to make the card more personal. You don’t have to be a great artist to create a meaningful card for your partner.
- Plan a social get together. Perhaps your loved one has been super busy lately and hasn’t had much time for you or her friends. Try planning a get together where you get friends together and do something fun. You can throw a party, go somewhere fun or just have a chill night where you all have drinks, play board games and catch up.
- Don’t check your phone. Loved ones can feel unimportant when you disrupt activities by answering the phone or sending texts and emails while together. Turn off your phone and give your loved one 100% of your attention. Try to limit yourself from checking social media while you are together. It can wait till later.
- Give them a passionate kiss. Sometimes in long term relationships, kissing gets taken for granted. Passionate kisses turn into quick pecks out the door. A great way to show your love is to give them a passionate kiss when they least expect it. What happens next depends on the both of you.
- Tell them how much you love them. Over time you may have figured to your loved one that your love is obvious. Although your partner may know how much you love them, make sure to tell them every so often. Let them know how much you love them and all the reasons you’ll never stop loving them.
- Give them a picture of the both of you. Find a picture you love of the two of you and have it printed and framed. This is a wonderful give to give a loved one. You may have had many amazing experiences together, but sometimes you forget to show off the pictures.
- Give them a hug. A hug can be a great way to show your loved one that you care for them and miss them. Next time you see your loved one, give them a long and lasting love to really show how much you care about them.
- Support them. Everybody goes through hard times at some point. Even if you tried very hard to prevent your loved one from making a mistake, continue to support them during the tough times. Your support is one of the greatest ways to show your lasting love and to remind your loved one that you are always there for them no matter what.
- Encourage your partner to pursue their passions. Does your partner want to learn a new language, sing again, start a blog or get back into her artwork? Do what you can to support her in her passions. Maybe you can purchase her classes, get a domain name for her blog or get her artist materials. Even if you can’t afford that, encouraging her to pursue her passions should be enough.
- Hold their hands. Maybe you both are watching a movie or on the way to the grocery store. Grab her hand. This is a romantic gesture that you may not have done since dating. Holding hands will strengthen your intimacy and will be a lovely surprise to help make her feel loved.
- Tell them a secret. A great way to show a loved one how much they mean to you and how much you trust them, is to share a secret with them.
- Teach them something they have always wanted to learn. If your loved one wants to learn something that you know, then offer to help them with their learnings. Try to be patient with them as well since they will need your support.
- Tell them you are lucky to have them in your life.
- Get to know their friends and family. You may not get along with their friends straight away or share different views with their family, but be respectful, kind and tolerant to their family. Try to show that you care about your loved one’s family even if it is difficult for you to get along with them.
- Apologize for any hurt you have caused. Not all relationships are perfect and there will be a time where you will hurt your loved one or they will hurt you. Accept responsibility for your part in the hurt and truly apologize for your part. Back up your apology with loving actions to show that you will work hard to prevent the negative situation from happening again.
- Forgive your partner. You can publicly or silently forgive your partner for something hurtful they have done to you in the past. This can be something significant like a rocky start to a relationship or something minor like a hurtful comment your partner said while annoyed. Forgiveness shows your partner that you are willing to let go and work through the struggles with them.
In what ways do you show your loved ones how much you care and love them? How have you showed someone you love them today? Share your comments and feedback below.