Love.

It’s the one word that can summon various positive feelings all at one. To some, it’s a warm and welcoming feeling. To others, it’s a jovial and playful emotion that we all welcome with open arms. No matter what feeling it calls upon, it’s always a good thing to be in love.

So does this mean that the absence of love means unhappiness? Or that if you are in love you are automatically happy? Well, it is much more complicated than that.

We all know that love can never be bought, traded, or forced. This is the reason why love gets a bit complicated for some people. The thing is, the NEED to be loved is very hard to fill. This is because we always look for a different source of love when in fact self-love is the source of everything.

Remember when your friend, parent, sibling told you at one point that in order to truly love somebody else, you must first learn to love yourself?

They could have never been more right. So how can you be single and still be happy? Remember being single is temporary, if you want love, you will find love, it’s about being proactive, being the best possible version of you and focusing on what you in your life and taking actions to make it happen.

During this temporary transition here are some tips you can follow to make single-hood a much better experience for you:

1. Stop comparing your life with other and take charge! Activity breeds success!
2. Aim at being a better person. People love positive, kind people.
3. Indulge. Give back to you! You deserve it!
4. Go out and have fun. You’ll feel amazing!
5. Count your blessings and realize you are still fortunate.
6. Take up a new hobby. It will make you even more interesting.
7. Look in the mirror and say I love you!
8. Be positive!

So what about people who are currently in love? Are they always happy? Not necessarily. There will be times when happiness is hard to find in a relationship and that is perfectly normal. The whole point of being in a relationship is facing these “trying times” and coming out as a stronger couple. Here are some tips you might want to put in mind so you will be happier while in a relationship.

1. Talk. Communication is key in every relationship.
2. Make sure that you have each other’s attention when talking.
3. Give in on the little things every now and then.
4. Say “I love you” in more ways than one.
5. Be as loving and compassionate whenever you are communicating with your partner.
6. Practice teamwork.
7. Work out the kinks in your relationship.
8. Set goals as a couple and reach them as a couple.
9. Fight fair.
10. Be romantic, act romantic, and feel romantic.

Remember that love and relationships are not like having a house built. You can’t go and ask people to make it for you in exchange for money. Or like buying a new car where you just have to pay money and you get the car. Instead, you must take a transformational approach in love. One must learn how to pluck the sinews of the heart. We must learn how to inspire the people we love. We must learn how to envision. Lastly, we must learn how to show and give love in order to receive love.