Your Romantic Relationship

And enjoy Michelle’s guest blog post here…

Top 5 benefits of camping with your romantic partner

#5 – You’ll gain confidence in your partner and yourself.

Reaching the top of a mountain, paddling through rapids, or starting a campfire in the rain can give you a great feeling of accomplishment. When you camp together, you’ll each have your moments to shine, to impress and to appreciate each other’s skills and achievements. Confidence is sexy, so activities that raise your confidence level are likely to attract all the right attention.

#4 – You’ll get away from your busy lives more often.

Life can become a bit of a treadmill these days. Work, appointments, eat, sleep, repeat. Once or twice a year, if you’re lucky, you get away from it all and go on vacation. The wonderful thing about camping with your partner is that every weekend gives you a chance to quickly and inexpensively get away from it all. Free yourselves from the daily grind for a day or two and you’ll feel refreshed and reminded of why you love each other.

#3 – You’ll have time to connect with each other, gadget-free.

The more time we spend with our gadgets, the fewer conversations we seem to have. Removing the TV, smartphone, iPad and other gadgets and getting away to a quiet, natural setting can be just the ticket to start off a long-overdue talk. While you’re hiking, paddling or sitting around the fire try opening things up with open-ended questions like “What would be your dream life in 5 years?” or “Do you think there’s anything in our lifestyle you’d like to change?” Try not to dominate the conversation or lecture your partner. Listening is at least as important as talking.

#2 – You’ll share a healthy hobby that you can enjoy together for the rest of your lives.

Camping can be as physically challenging or as easy as you like. Health professionals have been exploring the benefits of exposing yourself to wilderness settings to improve your mental health and reduce stress – something we would all benefit from. Add in the exercise you’ll get with hiking or paddling, or maybe even backpacking or rock climbing for the more athletic types, and you’ve got a hobby with lots of healthy benefits. I’ve seen people well into their 70s backpacking and paddling. As for car camping, you can continue to enjoy it for as long as one of your has a driver’s license.

#1 – Sharing unique and memorable experiences strengthens your bond.

Every time you are out in the wilderness and share the experience of a truly starry sky, a glimpse of the aurora borealis, a wildlife enounter, or a spectacular view from a mountain peak you are creating a powerful, shared moment. When experiences affect us profoundly, we create much stronger memories of them (think about your wedding or the birth of a child). Even a negative experience, like getting soaked in a downpour, can be a cherished memory when it’s all over. When you share these powerful memories with your partner, you become closer to each other – like you have an unspoken language. Camping offers so many opportunities for these memorable moments that it’s hard to think of another activity that can match it.

Sex in a Tent: A wild couple’s guide to getting naughty in nature is available from Indigo and Amazon.com.

Wishing you continued happiness, Steph

Stephanie Staples, CSP* is the author of When Enlightening Strikes – Creating a Mindset for Uncommon Success and an internationally acclaimed motivational speaker. She empowers audiences & clients across North America to bring their ‘A’ game to work and to life. Stephanie has a special interest in working with and empowering nurses and healthcare providers. She happily calls Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada home. You can get loads of complimentary resources to help with issues such as work/life balance, wellness, stress management and happiness in general, as well as find out more information about her coaching and speaking services at http://www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca.

* Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), conferred by the National Speakers Association is the speaking profession’s international measure of professional platform proficiency. Less than 10 percent of speakers have earned this credential and are recognized as some of the best in their fields. Stephanie was one of only five professional speakers in Canada (and the only woman) to attain this designation in 2013.

The post Your Romantic Relationship first appeared on Your Life Unlimited.

Contributed by Stephanie Staples at Your Life Unlimited

by Stephanie Staples

Your Romantic Relationship

Pro Tips