How to Make Your Relationship Stronger with 15 Simple Methods

When it comes to longevity, knowing how to make your relationship stronger certainly helps. Here’s how you can make your relationship last forever.

Not all relationships start out on great terms. You may be happy at first and then after that honeymoon phase ends, you’re left struggling to keep things together. But if you really care about that person, you want to know how to make your relationship stronger so it can last.

You’re not alone in feeling this. A lot of people have to work hard to figure out how to grow as a couple. Relationships are hard work in general. The fact that you’re trying and putting forth an effort to make things better already shows so much.

The key to a healthy relationship is trying

That’s it. It’s simply trying. A lot of people will say communication saves a relationship, and while that’s completely true, making an effort is the very first step. As long as two people are trying, progress will be made and the relationship will improve.

Those who don’t try have already lost. Without putting forth any effort, nothing can get better. Someone who isn’t trying is a person who doesn’t care. And when one person doesn’t care, the relationship is already over. [Read: 20 ingenious ways to keep a relationship exciting]

How to make your relationship stronger so it can outlast anything

You will have to go through tough times together. That’s just the reality of relationships. But the stronger your relationship, the better chance you have of making it. Here’s how you can bond more, delve deeper, and make your relationship as strong as it can be.

#1 Talk to each other. I know you do talk to your partner. I mean to talk about more than just the weather and how your days were. Ask for details and really listen to them. Usually, people mean an awful lot more than what they say and by talking regularly, you’ll learn to read between the lines. [Read: 15 things to talk about in a perfect relationship]

#2 Show how much you care. Don’t just say it. Words hardly mean anything if there aren’t actions to back them up. So do nice things and show your significant other they’re in your life because you really want them to be. They’ll be grateful and happy to see it.

#3 Talk about the important stuff. With this, I mean you have to talk to each other about the deep stuff. Discuss how you feel about major issues and make a point to dig deep. Staying strong is about staying close and this is how to do that. The more you talk about difficult things, the better.

#4 Always work to improve your sex life. Sex is a major part of any healthy, happy relationship. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. That being said, you’ll have to work hard in order to keep it fun and exciting.

If you’re both always trying to improve and make things better, it’s unlikely you’ll ever be unhappy with things. Talk about what you both need and then follow through with your plans to make it better. The better your sex life, the stronger you’ll be together. [Read: 30 ways to keep your sex life the best it can be]

#5 Stay playful. Keep your fun, flirting attitude alive throughout the relationship. It’s usually present for the first few months and then fizzles out. Don’t let it. The more you’re able to sit back and laugh together, the stronger your relationship will be.

#6 Be romantic whenever you can. Romance is needed in all relationships. Once again, this is something that’s usually really strong in the beginning but goes away over time. The key to learning how to make your relationship stronger is finding new ways to be romantic and loving toward your partner.

#7 Always show your appreciation. It doesn’t have to be a big display, but a simple “thank you” can go a long way in making your relationship stronger. When your partner’s actions are appreciated and they know it means a lot to you, they’ll keep doing them.

Plus, the more they do for you, the more you’ll want to do for them. It’s an endless cycle of both of you giving to each other. That can never be bad for a relationship. [Read: 16 ways to show your appreciation for someone you love]

#8 Fully discuss your arguments. Arguing and then forgetting about it is pointless. In fact, it makes things much worse. The more you fight and then don’t figure out the real issue, the further apart you’ll grow. Meaning, your relationship will be very weak. Fully talk about your problems and come to a conclusion about them.

#9 Try getting to know them more every day. We change a lot as time goes by. The person you were when you first entered your relationship might be different than who you are today. The same is true for your partner.

#10 Laugh at the embarrassing, silly stuff. When you’re in a long-term relationship, stuff can get messy. You get very up close and personal with many things about your partner.

You have to be able to laugh off those embarrassing moments and move on. Your relationship will be really strong if you can always do this. [Read: How to smile and laugh more to improve your life and relationship]

#11 Always go on dates. Date night isn’t really an option. You have to have them. Even if you can only go twice a month instead of once a week, it’s important that you both carve out time to be intimate with one another.

Making it a priority is essential. Don’t back out on date night unless your reason is really important. And even then, make it up to them.

#12 Do things they love but you don’t. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices. They might really want to go see that new action movie you think looks awful. Take one for the team and go ahead and do it. They’ll do the same for you. The more selfless you are, the stronger your relationship will be.

#13 Acknowledge when things aren’t okay. Every relationship has hard times. That’s okay. Be the person who decides to open up and talk about it. Most people have a hard time with this and will end up holding everything inside. That’s the last thing you want. So discuss when things are bad and you want them to be better. [Read: 10 big problems in relationships and how you can fix them]

#14 Stay patient and learn how to forgive fully. Holding grudges really isn’t a great thing for relationships. You have to be able to forgive and then mean it. You also want to work on staying patient with your partner. Everyone has issues they might need to work through before they can make a relationship stronger.

#15 Always try to impress them, no matter how long you’ve been together. This is one of the best pieces of advice for learning how to make your relationship stronger. Keep trying. Always work on impressing one another. The more you do this, the happier you’ll both be and the stronger your relationship will become.

[Read: 34 ways to build a stronger bond in your relationship]

Learning how to make your relationship stronger is all about working together. You’re a partnership. That means you each have to put forth the same effort in order to make it strong and successful.