No relationship is perfect. But when two people love each other, they will darn sure do everything they can to make it work. That includes “little” things such as giving your partner compliments to larger acts like doing something you don’t love to make them happy.

Relationships are partnerships. If they aren’t equal, they will never work. For example, if you feel like you’re pulling more of the weight, things can start feeling heavy and quickly go downhill. It doesn’t take long for animosity to build.

Therefore, if you’re fortunate enough to be in a relationship with someone you love and who loves you in return, you might want to look for ways to keep things on the up-and-up. If so, we have 5 things you can do to help strengthen your relationship.

Even if you’re single, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared for when love does come and unexpectedly sweep you off of your feet.

1) Make life easier

Life is never truly easy. But you’re there to make things a bit more bearable for your partner. So please, don’t be a burden! It truly is the little things that make a huge difference. Be their sounding board. Make sure that they know that no issue is too big nor too small to vent to you about. Validate their feelings.

If you know that they like the smell of fresh coffee in the morning, why not go and get it started for them when they wake up every now and then? Do they do most of the cooking? If so, wash the dishes. Set the table. Buy the groceries. These things go a very long way.

2) Give them a break

This ties in with the first point — be there to alleviate any stress or any negative feelings that they may be having. That’s not to say to be a punching bag or a doormat. You just want to make sure that you genuinely try your best to be there for them.

For example, if you know your partner has a stressful week coming up, do something that A, they like and B, relaxes them.

3) Be grateful

Sometimes we take for granted all of the amazing things that others do for us, particularly our partners. It’s easy to overlook things that they do especially if it becomes a regular thing. Thus, take the time to say ‘thank you.’ Tell them that they are appreciated and how you truly value the things they do for you.

It only takes a second.

4) Give them a long embrace

It’s been scientificallyproven that long hugs make a difference. For instance, they can help reduce stress and can even make you happier. How neat is that? Now you always have an excuse to hug your partner. Not that you needed one!

5) Leave reminders

Remember how we stated to be grateful? Well, this is one of those ways to show how much you appreciate them. Thus, leave little reminders for them to find later. You can only imagine how amazing they’ll feel once they find it. It really is a gamechanger.

Reminders can come in the form of a note or even a sweet text.

Hopefully, these tips help to keep the love strong between you and your partner. Remember, this is only a small portion of the things one can do to show how much they love their partner. What else would you add?

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Sources: Higher Perspective, Healthline