We’re all practicing a new love language, whether you realize it or not. Quality Time is now front and center for all of us during COVID-19 because we’re in a place where that’s inevitable.
Do you know what your top Love Language is? If you haven’t read Gary Chapman’s powerful book, The Five Love Languages, I highly encourage you to pick up a copy. Especially if you’re in leadership in any capacity.
Your ability to understand how you process love through these languages is essential to your personal growth and development. It’s also essential to having the strongest and most healthy relationships.
The Five Love Languages are:
- Words Of Encouragement/Affirmation
- Physical Touch
- Quality Time
- Gifts
- Acts Of Service
The importance of knowing your main love language
Knowing your main love language is knowing how you accept, receive, and show love in your relationships. If you have a need to hug others when you greet them or when saying goodbye, it’s likely that physical touch is one of your strongest love languages.
If you are regularly giving people compliments and saying encouraging things, words of affirmation is your main love language. If you love to give people random gifts or pick up something for a friend because you’re thinking of them, gifts is likely your top love language.
These are a few examples. How you show love is also primarily how you receive love. Meaning, if words of encouragement mean the world to you, you also likely want to hear people tell you that you’re doing a good job and that you mean something to them. When people speak in kindness and encouragement to you, you feel super special.
One of the love languages that is easy to miss is Quality Time. This is when you just want to be with someone without any distractions or other commitments. Maybe hanging out with your friends is the most glorious thing you can imagine.
Quality Time is now your main love language
With the quarantine of COVID-19 and the coronavirus pandemic, we’re not doing our regular routine anymore. Many of us are working from home and only going out to see close friends or family every now and then. We’re spending A LOT of time with whoever lives in your house.
Quality Time is knocking on your door. Right now. Will you answer?
We humans have a tendency of procrastinating. Especially when the universe gives us a golden opportunity to grow. One of the key ways to strengthen, nourish, and grow your relationships is to be present with them.
Instead of putting it off until another time (as described in this blog article), invest in the relationships with those you’re seeing every day. Take advantage of this monumental blessing and opportunity to grow in your ability to spend true quality time with those you love.
Here’s why:
With the advent of so much entertainment, commerce, work, and other activities all accessible via our phones and mobile devices, we’ve lost much of the art of being present.
To be present is to show up with ALL of your attention, care, and self in the moment with the person or people you’re physically with.
When was the last time you were fully present with the people in your life?
This is the power of where we are now. It’s the opportunity to grow exponentially in your relationship-building skills in the present moment.
Use this time well.
Don’t spend it binge watching needless Netflix shows because you “don’t have anything else to do.”
Your family and friends want and need your presence. Your full presence. Right now. In this moment.
Regardless of what your main love language is, BE present today.
It will change your life. And your relationships.
This blog post was originally published on dgrantsmith.com.
D Grant Smith is known as the Growth Farmer, which means he has an old-fashioned approach to living a whole & healthy life. Get his free ebook called Love Is The Seed To Success, that gives help in healing relationships and growing healthy ones. His new book Be Solid: How To Go Through Hell & Come Out Whole is about the journey into self-love and self-care after heartbreak and personal loss. He’s an empowerment superhero who would love to give you encouragement so feel free to reach out!
Image courtesy of American Heritage Chocolate.
