When we have been with our partner for an X amount of time, often times we fall into the mistake of taking them for granted. It is not a rare thing to treat our partners differently after the honeymoon period is gone. The little things our partner did when we were just in the beginning phase of dating seemed super duper cute and always exciting. However, as time passes by, most of the little things our partners used to do, which we found to be special gestures are often now seen as ordinary.

Be careful not to be in this phase for too long. The moment we start to dismiss the little things our partners do to show us how much they care, is the moment we decrease the sparks in the relationship.

The little things he does.

Here are some of the little things that your partner may have done for you, which you may be taking for granted: driving you around, picking you up and taking you home after hanging out, paying for dinner, buying gifts, surprises, buying flowers, making an effort to spend time with you, apologizing whether he is right or wrong, and generally putting you on top of his priority list. A lot of us often think that a boyfriend should be doing these things if he cares, however, what we often forget is that these gestures are special and should be appreciated as much as possible.

Show your appreciation.

One of our favorite quotes is, “When there is appreciation, there is duplication”. When we show our appreciation to our partners, it is a guarantee that they would want to do more things to make us happy more often. Appreciate the little things your man does and communicate it to him on a regular basis. And if your partner just so happens to not really make any of these gestures, appreciate what he is already doing right now and embrace it. We often mistake ‘nagging’ or ‘demanding’ our partners to do things for us as motivation for them to make more of an effort, however, they usually backfire.

Romance does not have to come from him only:

We often put so much emphasis on what our partners are doing for us romantically that we forget to check-in to see if we treat them well or not. Romance does not have to depend on our partners only and us being at the receiving end. As much as men often do the romantic gestures, they too would appreciate us making an effort to make them feel special. Remember ladies; treat your man like a king if you want to be treated like a queen. The door opens both ways to romance – the relationship is between you and him after all.

When we focus on the positive, it is inevitable that we invite more of it. This applies to everything in life especially in relationships. The more we say ‘thank you’ the more our partners are willing to keep up their effort. Remember, just because you have been with him for a long while does not make it ‘ordinary’ whenever he does do the little things we mentioned above.