not a noun.

Sure, by definition it can be a noun, verb, and an adjective.

But where society, and relationships get confused, they don't take to heart that for love to remain constant in their lives, it must be used as a verb.

ACTIONS must be taken to show your love.

ACTIONS must be taken to remain in love.

Valentine's Day, whether you it was a holiday you celebrated, or not, is a time of year that reminds us that love and relationships are something that connect us all as human beings.

In the men's group I'm part of, we have open discourse about relationships that are thriving, as well as those that have fallen apart.

A common conclusion of these discussions...

We as men are not setup to succeed at having LONGTERM loving relationships.

The same goes for women.

If you are like me, you haven't witnessed many... if any... relationships where the people have remained IN LOVE for the entirety of their relationship.

Why do I believe this is the case?

The media focuses on the glamour of a wedding day, but never mentions what happens afterwards.

You are shown the good times, never the tough ones.

And these days, with a few simple swipes you can pursue as many "good times" as you want without having to stick out the difficult parts with someone else.

After all, 'the grass is always greener', right?

Wrong.

You are sold this false idea that love is like a fairytale - and it isn't.

Through my own experience I've come to realize that I'm in love because of how my partner responds to life's challenges.

How we work together in the hard moments is what really makes me fall in love with her over and over again.

Love may be a feeling, but staying IN love is an active decision made every day - starting with loving yourself first!

Sadly most people don't take enough time to understand themselves fully, so how can they really understand their partner?

It's only when we drop our guards that we can start unravelling these layers within ourselves and establish real connections with others.

That's why I want to help change our conditioning around relationships by having conversations about them - which is exactly why my wife and I release a podcast episode every year during Valentine's Day.

And this year's episode was super special for us because Valentine's Day was 2-months from our son's due date.

Crazy how time is flying.

Anyways, I'd love for you to check out out the episode where Erin is on the mic and we discuss the up's and down's of our marriage, the traits we hope our son gets from us... as well as those we hope he doesn't, and how we continue to strive to be our best selves so that we can continue to love each other for the long run.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this episode!

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

Listen on thriveonlife.com/#podcast

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Most importantly, GO TAKE ACTION ON LOVE.

Show those around you that you deeply care about them.

Your life will be more fulfilling if you do!

#thriveon

CJ

p.s. today I am grateful for Erin's willingness to have a "podcast date" for our Valentine's Day. She truly is my soul mate.