Okay, I know, you don't want to read about a bunch of lovey dovey stuff right now. But listen, this isn't just important for those who are in relationships with their significant others, this is for everyone! I know, you may be exiting out of this article already. I promise you, this will come in handy in ALL of your relationships. Yes, ALL! That means that your relationships with friends, family, and your significant other (or future significant other). If there is no hope for you, then for your 50 cats!
First off, you may be wondering what "Love Languages" are? Well, to simply answer your question, it is how you like to receive love. The five love languages are: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. You may already know of one that screams how you like to be loved! As for myself, I knew right away that receiving gifts was my wavelength of love. However, I had no clue that my number one love language was acts of service! Now that I know these love languages, I am able to see how this applies to my life! If you already know your love languages keep on reading, however if you don't please stop and take this quiz to find out!
Take quiz here: http://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/
Now that you know your love languages, are you able to see how this is lived out in your life? If not, let me show you. I will go through each love language to explain!
Do you ever just want that extra attention for your friends, family members, or significant other to just tell you that you are doing a great job? That you look extra beautiful today? Or that you are so important to them? That is words of affirmation. It's not like you are searching for compliments, but you want to be affirmed and reminded of the things people appreciate most about you! At this point, you probably give people compliments and love on them a little extra because this is how you receive love, so you want to reciprocate that to others!
When someone does simple favors for you such as: cleaning up the house, going grocery shopping for you, or getting you food when you are busy; you appreciate this so much. You love to be able to give up your time for others to help them out and would like for that to be reciprocated to you! It gets frustrating when the other person doesn't pull their load, but they may not understand it because that isn't how they receive or reciprocate love.
This one is my personal favorite. Guilty is charged, but I do love getting the occasional flowers, a surprise date to my favorite restaurant, or a shirt that I have been wanting for a while. It's not only the surprise factor I love, but it's the meaning behind the gifts. This makes people look like they are spoiled brats, but I promise it's not that! It's just that we love to get gifts because it is our love language. (For the record, it doesn't have to be anything extravagant!) That is how we love one another and that is how we would like them to love us! So, yes! We are the people who absolutely adore giving random gifts to people! It's just who we are!
Spending time with one another is a key factor to relationships no matter what type! However, the people who love spending quality time with one another just want to be in each other's presence! They want to take a little time out of their day to see each other and to be able to spend quality time together. No, that is not quality time watching TV or on your phone the whole time. That is doing something together that causes social interaction and catching up with how their lives are going! They enjoy being able to have face-to-face interaction because there is nothing quite like it!
The last love language can be often mistaken and misconstrued as PDA (public displays of affection). Physical touch isn't just making out with your significant other or having to hold hands all the time. These people are more prone to love hugs when their day isn't going the greatest. Or they like to have a pat on the back for a job well done! It's just something they relate with. Many times it can be seen as PDA because of how people display physical touch. Now, if you are making out in front of other people, touching their butts in public, or other inappropriate touching, then yes, that stuff can be saved for private time alone. That makes other people uncomfortable and frankly, they won't want to stick around for very long. So, please be intentional with making your physical touch a more appropriate gesture such as: holding hands in public, a quick hug or smooch, or looking into eyes longingly. This love language isn't just applicable to those in relationships, but it can be for friendships and family members as well! If you love hugs, pats on the back, someone rubbing your feet, then you may be a person who loves physical touch. Also be cautious of reciprocating this love, because a lot of people aren't all huggy-types. However, if you are with a group of people who love like this I suggest trying a cinnamon roll hug! (Look it up if you don't know! You won't regret it!)
Now that you know a little bit about your love languages and how to receive and reciprocate them, I will talk a little bit about why they are so important! For those who are in relationships of any types (so that is all of you), love languages are a key component of keeping relationships long and lasting! Being with someone who can understand your love language and give you the love you want and deserve is very important. If you don't receive the love you long for then you simply won't be happy. In these relationships, it is smart idea to talk about your love languages! You can talk about it, get to know the other person, and effectively know how to improve your communication with one another and your relationship in general! Essentially, they can learn how to love you and you can learn how to love them! You just have to be able to meet their needs for love. It is interesting if you have known a person for a while to take this quiz and find out each other's love languages! It may be blatantly obvious or it may be surprising! However, whatever the outcome is, just remember that each of us receive love in different ways and we need to be supporting and understanding of that. I truly believe that to have a long and healthy relationship you have to know and understand your love languages. That is my key to a successful and long relationship with your loved ones, family members, and tried and true friends.
XOXO to everyone! Delight in love!
