Love can exist with and without feeling, but never without choice. Whether it's in the early stages or decades down the track, every day together is another choice. Feelings fade and people change but the only thing that runs through an entire relationship is the choice to keep going.
``Love'' is an action based word and not a feeling based word. It's a choice. It's to show your partner that you want to see them happy and to want to make them happy, even if you feel otherwise in the moment. It's sacrificial.
Love isn't just a feeling. Love is a choice too. And you may not be able to help your feelings, but you are responsible for the choices you make about what to do with them.
Research suggests that love is a choice, not a feeling, as you can actively influence your brain into loving someone by focusing on their positive aspects.
3-6-9 rule is 3 months honeymoon phase of the relationship 6 months is conflict stage, 9 months is the decision phase is this really worth pursuing or not.
The 7-7-7 rule is a structured method for couples to regularly reconnect, involving a date night every 7 days, a weekend getaway every 7 weeks, and a kid-free vacation every 7 months.
survived the dreaded two-year mark (i.e. the most common time period when couples break up), then you're destined to be together forever… right? Unfortunately, the two-year mark isn't the only relationship test to pass, nor do you get to relax before the seven-year itch.
“For example, men in our study generally fell in love one month sooner than women. This may be because men are more commonly required to show their commitment to win over a partner,” Bode said. “A large proportion of participants (over 39 per cent) of both sexes fell in love after forming a romantic relationship.
Love can exist with and without feeling, but never without choice. Whether it's in the early stages or decades down the track, every day together is another choice. Feelings fade and people change but the only thing that runs through an entire relationship is the choice to keep going.
The 7 Stages Of Love.... Dilkashi, Uns, Mohabbat, Aqidat, Ibadat, Junoon, Maut Ya Zendgi This drama will always hold a special place in my heart. (Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum)
Real love is an unwavering dedication to the soul of your loved one and the soul of the world. Emotions and desires can come and go as they please, and circumstances can change in startling ways, but real love never wavers. Real love endures all emotions – and it survives trauma, betrayal, divorce, and even death.
Love is Commitment
Being there for someone is what a real relationship needs. When we neglect to put in the effort is when things don't work out with someone that could have been perfect for us. If you put in that extra effort for someone that can reciprocate it, love can be the greatest feeling one can ever feel.”
Jesus said we are to love as He loved us and “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 ESV). Biblical love is sacrificial love. It is not a feeling but an act of will; the desire to put the welfare of others above your own.
So what is the 2-2-2 rule? Every 2 Weeks: Go on a date. Every 2 Months: Take a weekend away. Every 2 Years: Plan a getaway together.
True love often involves a deep emotional connection, respect, trust, and understanding. Shared values and goals, a sense of safety and comfort, and mutual growth may be signs that you're experiencing true love. Couples therapy can help you foster healthy relationships and work through any challenges that arise.
Choice happens when the heart and the mind sit at the same table - and sometimes, the mind wins. That's why someone can love you deeply, sincerely, and still walk away. Not because the feelings weren't real, but because something else outweighed them - distance, timing, personal goals, emotional readiness.
The first love is lust and is founded primarily on sexual attraction, and the second love is intimacy and is founded on compatibility (as well as sexual attraction). The third love is commitment, and it involves lust and intimacy as well as the decision to commit to one another through life's ups and downs.
This is where the 7-7-7 rule comes in, a “trend” making the rounds on social media recently, also referred to as the 1-1-1-1 method. By 7-7-7 it means every seven days have a date night, every seven weeks have a night away and every seven months go on a romantic holiday.
Common red flags in men can include jealousy, controlling behaviour, lack of communication, emotional unavailability, and manipulation. That said, red flags can show up differently for everyone, and what feels like a red flag to one person might not feel the same to another.
In plain language: Men often feel most loved by the women in their lives when their partners hug them, kiss them, smile at them, and explicitly offer gratitude, praise, and words of affection.
But it does provide some rough guidelines as to how soon may be too soon to make long-term commitments and how long may be too long to stick with a relationship. Each of the three numbers—three, six, and nine—stands for the month that a different common stage of a relationship tends to end.
The Bottom Line. Women fall out of love faster not because they're less committed, but because they're more emotionally aware and pragmatic. They know what they want — and what they deserve — in a relationship. For men, this is a wake-up call.
Not every relationship warrants the extensive timeframe of the 555 after a breakup approach. The 3-3-3 rule offers a condensed timeline: 3 days of intense emotional release, 3 weeks of active reflection, and 3 months of intentional rebuilding.
Relationship researcher John Gottman identifies four specific behaviors that often predict divorce: criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling. He calls these the “Four Horsemen” and highlights the significant damage even one of these can inflict on a marriage.
It's not just December – January brings break-ups too
“Sometimes we make promises to ourselves that we aren't going to have another year like this in our relationship, and the break-up happens early in the new year,” Mitchell explains. Together, December and January form what experts now call 'break-up season'.