Love with a twist of distance

Long distance relationships may be tough but they have their own surprises too. To keep your love alive and strong, here are 21 tips to make your long-distance relationship work

Avoid excessive communication

It is unwise to be overly "sticky" and possessive. You two don't really have to communicate 12 hours a day to keep the relationship going. Many couples think that they need to compensate for the distance by doing more. This is not true. And it might only make things worse. Soon you would get tired of "loving."

Remember: Less is more. It is not about spamming — you are only going to exhaust yourselves. It's really about teasing at the right moments and tugging at the right spots.

An opportunity

View it as a learning journey for the both of you. See it as a test of your love for each other. As the Chinese saying goes, "Real gold is not afraid of the test of fire." Instead of thinking that this long-distance relationship is pulling you two apart, you should believe that through this experience, the both of you will be bound together even stronger.

Manage your expectations

Both of you need to be clear with what you expect of each other during this long-distance relationship. Set some ground rules so that none of you will do things that will take the other party by surprise. For instance, are you two exclusive? Is it alright for the other person to go on dates? What is your commitment level? It's better to be open with each other about all these things.

Try to communicate regularly, and creatively.

Greet each other "good morning" and "good night" every day — this is a must. On top of that, try to update your partner on your life and its happenings, however mundane some of the things may seem.

To up the game, send each other pictures, audio clips and short videos from time to time. By putting in this kind of effort, you make the other person feel loved and attended to.

Do similar things

Recommend books, TV shows, movies, music, news and etc. to each other. When you read, watch and listen to the same things, you get to have more topics in common to talk about.This is a good to create some shared experiences even though you are living apart.

Make visits to each other

After all the waiting and yearning and abstinence, you finally get to meet each other to fulfill all the little things like kissing, holding hands, etc. which are all common to other couples but so very special and extra intimate for people in long distance relationships.It will be like fireworks, glitter bombs, confetti, rainbows and butterflies everywhere.

Stay honest with each other

Talk about your feelings of fear, insecurity, jealousy, apathy, whatsoever. If you try to hide anything from your partner, that secret will sooner or later swallow you up from inside out.

Don't try to deal with things all by yourself. Be open and honest with each other. Let your partner help you and give you the support you need. it's better to look at the problem during its initial stage than to only disclose it when it's all too late.