Give 100% of You

I am no expert on relationships. I have had my fair share of heartache, heartbreak and love. See, the thing about relationships is you get out of it what you put into it. We'll revisit this toward the end  :-)

It's natural to be nervous and scared. It's a new relationship. You are continuously getting to know what the other person likes, doesn't like. You are sharing your thoughts, fears, wishes and dreams. You put yourself in a high level of vulnerability. Face it, you are sharing YOUR life with another person. Now, at this point I'm hoping you have chosen someone that truly cares about you for who you are.

This is where the relationship gets interesting. You have put time and effort into it. Gone on multiple dates, visiting with each other's family, etc, The question is, are you putting 100% of yourself into this relationship? Not just 20% or 40%. Not even 50%, but a full 100% of you. OK, you are probably saying, "If I am putting a 100% of me into this relationship, when do I have time for me?" That my friends is the question you need to be asking yourself BEFORE you decide to date someone. If you are not over needing 100% of your time and effort for you, don't date. It's really that simple. 

Now, on that same line of thought of giving 100% of you, doesn't mean 100% of your ever waking moment to be spent with that person (although that can be amazing too). It means you are committed to giving your best effort in the relationship. We all have busy lives. That's when you get with your partner and say, "Let's have a date night on Tuesday's, Thursday's and Saturday's (of course you pick days that are good for you). That sets a level of expectation of seeing each other. The other days (including the rest of the time you have on those days that you are seeing your partner) get done what you need to get done. Dinners with family, friends. Going shopping, etc. It's called time management. In this day and age of technology, sending a text to say, "Good morning" or "I'm thinking of you" or "I love you" takes little to no effort. FYI...there is also something called a phone where you can speak into it and say words and the person on the other end can hear you. That's right people, sometimes sending a text just won't do it. Text messages DO NOT replace phone calls. It's an "addition to", not an "instead of".

The next side of this 100% is when you are with your partner, you are with your partner. Not thinking of what you need to do tomorrow or what's happening later that night. Not on your phone or sending 100 text to people you can easily talk to or see the next day. You only get to see that person for a limited amount of time, so make the best of time you have with that person. It shows them you actually want to be there with them, not somewhere else.  

In closing, it takes little to no time to let someone know you care about them. If you put your heart into it, you should get a heart in return. Once you have chosen someone to date, meaning both of you have decided to be exclusive, make the choice to put 100% of yourself into it.