5 Reasons Why Your Long-Term Relationship Needs Some Long Distance

Let’s not skirt around the truth, traveling while in a committed relationship can be tough. Whether you’ve been together for three months or over three years, trusting your significant other (s/o) to travel across the world for an extended period of time can really test your ego.

“I love you and miss you but I don’t want to message you on your trip. You must soak up every bit of sun and experience as much as you can!”

The above message is a text I received from my long-term partner of six and a half years while traveling through Central America for two weeks, and to be honest, this is always the type of support I receive from him when exploring the world apart, and vice-versa. If you’re not receiving the same type of encouragement from your partner when you decide to embark on a journey alone or with friends, it might be time to re-evaluate where you’re both at in your relationship.

The following are five reasons why we here at DL feel your long-term relationship will benefit from some long distance.

1. To Grow Inside Your Relationship, You Need to Grow Outside of It

A big part of growing together in a relationship is to explore and find yourself separately and outside of your relationship. Just like how you allow one another to have your own lives outside your relationship at home, i.e. different jobs or classes, different friend groups, etc., you need to allow one another to explore and learn outside the walls of your relationship.

Motivational speaker and virtual storyteller, Jay Shetty sums it up best when speaking to his six-year relationship in saying: “YOU are not here to make me happy, that’s my responsibility to make me happy. You’re here to support, enhance and add to anything I do and I’m here for the same.”

2. Trust is Hard, but Being a Control Freak Isn’t so Chic Either

We get it, traveling around the world when you’re young comes with an accompanying list of temptations. There does just so happen to be many fish in the sea, and when you set your s/o free to travel around said sea, it’s normal to feel a tad concerned.

The most important thing to remember is this though, distance should not affect loyalty, and if it does, it most likely means there are some underlying issues that currently exists within your relationship that need to be addressed.

3. It Creates Better Channels of Communication

It’s very likely that before you embark on your trip that you and your partner will express how you’re feeling about being apart. This is the perfect time to voice your concerns and to establish your ground rules. Are you open to the idea of having an open relationship? It’s 2019 and the rules surrounding a modern-day relationship don’t necessarily have to be black and white. Just make sure you’re both on the same page and that you agree on what you feel most comfortable and confident with.

4. Your Relationship Will Grow From It

A large part of being in a mature relationship consists of not being selfish, and removing yourself as a barrier to your partner’s growth.

“If you love someone, set them free. If they come back they’re yours; if they don’t, they never were,” has never rang truer when it comes to trusting your partner to travel without you.

5. Exploring the World Separately Will Inspire You to Plan for Places to Travel Together

Quite easily the best part about traveling apart is the excitement it will spark for when you both get to see each other again. Keep in mind, the person in the relationship who wasn’t on the trip was most likely being extra productive too and probably has a lot to share about the ground they covered on the home-front. Once you’ve caught one another up on everything you explored and accomplished while apart, it’s exciting to put your minds together and to start planning an adventure for you both to embark on together next.

And, now that you’re both seasoned travelers who know their way around a map, traveling together (and doing life together) should be a breeze.

Related Article: I Lived in a Ford Focus for 3 Months: Here’s What I Learned