Life and Love

In lieu of my normal sarcastic Valentine’s Day comments, I was going to keep it clean and find a nice image to share wishing you all the happiest of Valentine’s Day.  Instead, I ended up running across this image:

Being the good blogger I am, I wanted to give someone credit so I followed the pic to the source and found the greatest article that made me look at this day and life and love in general on a whole different level.  Keep in mind that yesterday I heard some shocking statistics about marriage and society in general from one of my college professors.  I’ll share those with you sometime too.  Anyhow, the author talks about applying her love for fitness to her relationships. She makes 10 points that I’d like to pass on  because they really made me stop and think. Of course, I will offer you my insightful interpretations as well:

1. Don’t just find any partner, find the best partner.  If you work out with someone who is a pessimistic, whiny brat you will not excel. You have to believe you deserve the best to find someone that is worthy of YOU. Also, sometimes it is necessary to cut the dead weight in your life.  Surround yourself with people who inspire you.
2. Don’t settle with just any partner. Enough said. If you settle in life you will never have what you really want.
3. Let your emotions guide you. I’ve always heard that you have to be careful not to let your emotions interfere.  This article pushes you to let emotions drive you to greater things by learning how to USE them in positive ways.
4. Find an inspiration to be with that person. If neither of you have an inspiration, perhaps it is time to talk it out, set some goals and find that inspiration.
5. The time you despise your mate requires the most consistency. This one was pry my personal favorite. I’m not one of those “oh my husband is perfect, our life is perfect, our kids are perfect” kind of gal. Some days I really don’t even want to see him for fear that I’ll throw a sharp object at him. As the author states, “it is easy to love someone that doesn’t give you heartache, the test is whether you still love this person when adversity comes knocking at your door.”
6. A successful relationship requires discipline and focus in all areas of life. Just like with fitness, we have to remained focused to achieve.
7. Never forget your first intentions. When you start to doubt something or someone, always think back to why you started. I have to remind myself of that frequently when I’m running and feel the urge to lay down and cry.  Also, remembering how my husband used to take care of me and my sister when we were in college and how he dished it back to my family when they teased him the first time I brought him home really does make me smile.
8. Balance your relationship with the rest of your life. I had a run planned the other night but my son asked me for help with his Valentines. He decided he wanted to write out all the names all by himself. I was so proud of him that I couldn’t refuse him. I’ve also parked him in front of the wii so I could get in a run.  Balance.
9. Don’t ever lose hope. There are times when I’m in running despair that I feel like it’s impossible that I will ever get any better. Hope can help us keep going when there is nothing left.
10. Don’t get stuck in a routine. This is soooo easy to do whether it’s in a workout or a relationship. I’ve recently tried lots of new things that my husand enjoys like hunting and snowmobiling and as a result we’ve spent more time together doing fun things we both enjoy both with and without our kids. Shane has even indulged me and been drug around to multiple basketball games and Husker games that he was previously uninterested in.

I’m far from an expert on relationships, but this article rung true on so many different levels. Sometimes I find myself in need of an attitude adjustment, and after being sick for over a week, I found this article at the perfect time!  Happy Valentine’s day all!!

Do you love the love of Valentine’s Day?

Do you and your SO still get each other gifts?