Everyone knows that relationships require maintenance right? But lets face it most people put more effort into maintaining their car than their relationships! Many of us make the potential mistake of being complacent in our love life unless something goes really wrong. Like someone is about to leave, or there is a moat size emotional gap between them self and their partner. The smart move is not to get to this point and to be proactive in our relationships.

Being proactive involves making a conscious effort to keep the love light burning by using relationship enhancing behaviors. These behaviors are called maintenance behaviors, as they aim to maintain the quality of our relationships. The question then becomes which maintenance behaviors to use. Putting your effort into ineffective strategies can lead to frustration. Many studies have been done with happy couples to find out which strategies are effective in increasing satisfaction in relationships. One behavior consistently has been found to be positively related to happier relationships. This is the attitude of positivity. This is defined as having a cup is half full rather than half empty attitude. When partners have a positive outlook on life it creates a pleasant harmonious environment for the relationship to exist in. This can best be achieved by both individuals taking personal responsibility for their positive attitude. Many couples expect that it is the other persons responsibility to keep them happy. This can be a trap, expecting someone to make us happy can be a recipe for disaster.

Keeping yourself happy and positive can best be achieved by leading a balanced life. Often exercise and relaxation time is a big key to cope with the stresses of our everyday lives. Diet is also another key to keeping ourselves balanced. Mentally and emotionally being balanced often depends on what thoughts we are holding in our mind and how we view our lives. Our thoughts often trigger our emotions. A simple yet effective tool is to think happy thoughts, take the time each day to think about what you are grateful for in your life. If one of those things happens to be your partner then let them know. Positivity is very attractive and not only will your partner be happier spending time with you but you will be happier with your own company also.