Can a Long Distance Relationships Work? Ways to Overcome the Obstacles Successfully

Long-distance relationships can be challenging and frustrating at times. They take a lot of effort to maintain genuine connections, especially with the hurdles being apart brings. However, making the relationship work is possible if both you and your partner are willing to work at it and let go of expectations.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Here are some tips you can incorporate to help you overcome the obstacles during your time apart.

Ways to Keep Love Alive in Your Long-Distance Relationship

Make Trust the Foundation of Your Connection

One crucial factor for you to overcome the obstacles of a long-distance relationship successfully is trust. It’s a vital element in every relationship, something that should be your goal to build lasting connections.

Don’t think trust building is only about sexual fidelity—you can break your partner’s trust in many ways, big and small.

For instance, can your special person trust you to stick to your plans, or do you shove them aside when something more ‘urgent’ or a better social opportunity comes up? Can you count on them to help you feel heard and understood when things get rough? Just as important, can they count on you to reciprocate and do the same?

Trust is a two-way street that is earned and vital in your partner. Building trust is a constant work in progress to ensure that individual and couple’s needs are met.

Find Ways to Establish Quality Time Even When Apart

Even though you’re in a long-distance relationship, it’s vital to find ways to be present in each other’s lives. Spending quality time together at intervals will strengthen the bond between you. Doing so will also help you get to know your partner better, identifying their likes and dislikes, values and dreams, and love languages.

Romantic ideas that nurture love and connection despite the distance on Valentine’s Day or on ordinary days will fan your love. You can bond over a mutual love for movies, setting discord dates over the weekends. If both of you are into online games, you can find one in which you can level up together.

The thing is, find an activity that both of you can enjoy as a couple. This mutual enjoyment will make you feel more connected and even improve the quality of your relationship.

Communicate and Talk About Important Issues

Communication is more than just asking what meal you each ate for breakfast or how your day went. It’s also talking about important issues with your partner, including your feelings of fear, apathy, or insecurity. If something is bothering you, it’s best to be open and honest with each other.

In a long-distance commitment, it’s easier to hide things from your partner. However, it’s best to address any problem brewing from the get-go to avoid further conflict. Doing so will prevent grudges from forming with no need to keep score in your relationship.

Talking about tricky issues over the phone or on Facetime may be uncomfortable. However, things can only be solved if you give your partner a chance to support and reassure you. This openness will also solve little struggles and allow you to meet in the middle.

Related reading: “3 Mindful Ways to Communicate Better in a Relationship.”

Set Your Eyes on Mutual Goals

When it comes to long-distance relationships, setting your eyes on mutual goals can help in keeping the love alive. It’s an important discussion you and your partner will inevitably tackle for a possible future together. It’s also something solid that you can hold on to and look forward to during difficult times.

Establishing long-term goals is crucial to ensure that you are on the same page. This focus will set your relationship’s direction, including an agreed-upon and estimated period of living apart. Couples won’t stay in a faraway commitment forever.

Often, it’s individual goals that require couples to be apart. When the time is right and all goals have been met, you can be ready to merge your worlds. Creating a foolproof plan with your special one will help you prepare for this giant leap. It will also motivate you when you feel down because you’re not with the person you love.

Stay Positive and Encourage Each Other

There’s no denying that a long-distance relationship can be painfully lonely and arduous. The waiting period is incredibly frustrating, with the urge to see your person growing as time goes by. However, you must stay positive through it all and realize that things won’t always be like this.

A simple trick to help you reframe your situation as favorable is by seeing the benefits of this type of relationship. For one, you get to focus on your partner and give them your all during the times you’re together. On the other hand, you can allocate more to work, studies, and family when you’re apart.

The distance can also make you and your partner appreciate each other more. Appreciation increases what they do for you, such as aligning their hectic schedule with yours to connect more frequently. There may be drawbacks to long-distance connections, but there are plenty of silver linings.

Invest in Thoughtful Gifts

Gift-giving is not a practice strictly meant for momentous occasions. Do it occasionally, even unexpectedly, to surprise your partner and show your thoughtfulness for your loved one. This gesture is especially precious if you’re in a long-distance relationship, surprising them with a present full of your love and care. And if gifts are your partner’s love language, all the better!

It doesn’t matter if you have a limited budget. What’s important is to convey your feelings through a simple gesture of remembering them and what they like. It’s also an excellent opportunity to showcase your creativity and effort to please your partner.

It could be a simple handwritten letter filled with adoration for them. You could even book a spa known for rejuvenating massage techniques if they feel under the weather. Simply put, a special present shows that you think of them even from miles away.

Final Words

Entering a long-distance relationship isn’t easy, but all relationships take work. You may encounter obstacles during your time apart, yet you can pull through if your love is active and eager to build a future with your partner. As long as you work on your goals as a couple, time will fly, and you’ll soon find yourselves in each other’s arms.