Carrying out a long distance relationship successfully is very difficult-- which is something that people who meet on free internet dating sites experience every day. Internet dating opens you up a whole world full of potential partners. But unless you shop close to home, so to speak, you may need to be prepared for spending time apart. Especially if your new love is across the country or in a whole different part of the world.
No matter what you do, your long distance relationship isn't going to be easy. But if you avoid these "seven deadly sins" --the mistakes mostly commonly made by long distance couples-- you may just have a shot at it.
1. Setting your expectations too high.
Now, this is going to sound depressing, but it's always good to start off with a little dose of reality: most long distance relationships fail. So while it's okay to fall for that guy or girl from Serbia you met on an internet dating site, you've got to keep in mind that it might not work out. Expecting nothing but perfection will just have you asking to get your heart broken.
2. Letting your heart run away with you.
You ever hear the expression "absence makes the heart grow fonder?" Well it's true. And while it can be a good thing, for people in a long distance relationship it can actually be dangerous. Because when you're far away --and missing your mate-- it can be all too easy for your love to be based in something other than the reality. When this happens, relationships that may otherwise have fizzled out hold on longer than they should.
3. Not having a plan.
Not having a plan to be together in the near future is one if the quickest ways to kill a long distance relationship. When you can't look forward to the future and see a solution to your separation, it's easy to let negativity take over. Working towards a goal --a plan-- gives your relationship a positivity and a purpose. And it's those things you need in order to move forward.
4. Going in for the wrong reasons.
I'll put myself at risk of being repetitive: long distance relationships are hard. So you should only enter into one because you can't imagine being with anybody else. When the person you've met is exactly the person you want to be with. If you're simply lonely and want somebody to talk to, find an online friend. A long-distance romantic relationship is not going to succeed unless your whole heart is in it. And is nowhere else.
5. Not being able to pay.
This one's pretty simple! Long distance relationships are generally not for people of limited means. The further you are away from your love, the more costly it will be to visit them. But it's those visits that will fuel your relationship. If you can't pay to see each other --and, worse, can't pay to move to be together-- you probably shouldn't get involved in the first place.
6. Giving your suspicions free reign.
When you're far away from your partner, it's easy to let your fears and insecurities run away with you. What is your partner doing... and who with? Do they really have the same intensity of commitment to the relationship that you do? Are they cheating? But you've got to push those questions aside and try to trust your internet dating partner from the get-go. If you let your suspicions take hold, you won't be starting your new relationship from a very healthy place. And chances are it will fall apart under the strain of your scrutiny.
7. Letting others talk you out of your commitment.
When you tell your friends and family that you're dating somebody far away (especially somebody from another country), chances are you'll see a lot of shaking heads and hear a lot of "tsk, tsk, tsk's." But you can't let others' doubts cloud over your commitment to your relationship. Nobody is in this relationship but you and your partner; and so they can't truly give you an educated opinion. The only thing that should influence your decisions about your relationship are what you and your partner expect-- not what others expect of you.
