5 Tips for Success in Your Long Distance Relationship

Whether your spouse is in the military, your boyfriend is attending college, or you've just met your soul mate on MySpace, making it through the time your significant other is away can be one of your relationship's toughest challenges. Absence can make the heart grow fonder, but too much absence and our hearts grow weary and indifferent. Below are five ways to keep your love kindled and growing, even over the miles.

Talk every day:

Relationships are nurtured by physical contact, and distance makes touching, hugging, and feeling that special person beside you impossible. In place of hugs and kisses, you'll have to use your words to communicate affection. Keep in touch with your love as often as you can (daily if possible), reminding him that you care.

Keep your conversations interesting by taking advantage of the different ways to communicate. In days gone by letters were the only way to reach someone far away, and often it took mail weeks or months to reach its destination. A letter in the mail is still an invaluable and tangible gift, a physical link over the miles (a souvenir of your love), but it is no longer the only way to reach out. Today you can phone, email, text, send e-cards, chat with instant messenger, and video conference. Use these different ways to communicate and grow your relationship.

Plan the future:

Create relationship goals, whether they're financial, romantic, personal, social, or spiritual. These goals can give the love you both share a direction to grow in, and a reason to mature, adding much needed structure to your lives.

Design the time you'll spend together. Will you be homebodies, renovating your house or gardening, reading books by your fire place? Will you enjoy going out, traveling, being with mutual friends? How will you handle adversity? How will you handle success?

Don't argue, fight, or play childish games:

In a long distance relationship, time spent communicating with each other can be very limited, and petty indifferences waste energy better spent nurturing each other. Arguing can be important if done constructively, but constant nagging and squabbling can do irreversible damage.

Reason why? It can be more difficult to forgive someone their faults and transgressions in a long distance relationship. A hug can be a saving grace after minor disagreements, but when you're two thousand miles away, who is there to hug you? Be respectful and mature. Show her your best and expect her best in return.

Stay positive no matter what:

Nothing will make someone fall in love with you faster than a positive outlook on life, but negative attitudes are like weeds. Pull them out or there will be hundreds more by morning, and once they start to spread, they're nearly impossible to control. Make your love look forward to your return or your first meeting by staying upbeat about life in general. Carry that upbeat attitude into your physical relationship. Both of you will benefit by growing together, and as individuals.

Work hard at it:

Relationship are a lot of work, especially when you're hundreds, or thousands, of miles away. Don't let adversity make you lose sight of what's important. When you're finally able to physically connect with your love, you can look back at your time spent apart as something that fortified your relationship.

Do something everyday to make yourself a better person and a better friend to your lover, and help her do the same for you. If it's what you want, be willing to make sacrifices and work at fixing flaws and improving your relationship, one step at a time.