Think for a moment about the early days of dating. A new relationship is fresh, vibrant, and exciting. Your heart races as you receive a new text message.

Dating has a lot of fun physiological responses. Euphoria, a racing heart, sweating palms. It’s fun to just think about it!

Marriage is quite different. You don’t experience those same responses as frequently, so you start to wonder if you’re no longer in love. Marriage is a marathon, while dating is a sprint. They’re different.

But just because you’re married doesn’t mean you can’t live like you’re dating.

Marriage’s permanence removes lots of uncertainty about the future. You don’t have to worry about breaking up or hiding who you really are. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t bring an air of excitement to your daly life.

Here are a few ideas for how you can put the fun in fundamental marriage.

• Date nights. If you’re not still going out on dates with your wife, you’re doing it wrong. There are exceptions to every rule, but you need to be still having experiences and rediscovering each other on a regular basis. You are two people who are changing daily. By setting aside alone time, you can get to know each other better on a regular basis.
• Surprises. Who doesn’t like surprises? I wrote about this recently in my article called “Little Surprises.” Basically, you can add excitement into your wife’s life by surprising her with small tokens or mementos.
• New experiences. You and your wife should try something you’ve never tried before. Even if you think you may not like it, give it a go! If nothing else, you might have something funny to look back on.

The married life is a long ride, so make sure it doesn’t get stale!

Tags: Dating