3 Simple Ways to Effectively Love Others

Sometimes love isn’t easy.

I know, that’s probably not what you want to talk about, especially with Valentine’s Day making us think about hearts and roses and chocolate.

It could be February 14 or July 27, and the truth is the same: sometimes love is hard. But there are some simple things you can do to love the people in your life well.

Be Loved

The best way to love others is to know love. We can’t give what we don’t have. Understanding that we are loved by God is the very foundation on which all love is built. Even your love for your spouse or your kids.

God is love. Know His love and you will love others better.

Know Yourself

When it comes to understanding love it helps to understand who we are.

Gary Chapman wrote a wonderful book called The 5 Love Languages. Part of loving well is understanding how we feel loved. According to Chapman, physical touch, giving gifts, quality time, acts of service and words of affirmation are the key ways people feel loved.

When we understand which ways help us feel loved, we can better understand how to give love.

I was amazed how helpful this is when I checked out the new app, Love Nudge. This app is designed as a simple tool to help couples love one another more every day.

When I signed up I answered some questions that revealed my love language profile. Take a look:

This simple graphic shows that physical touch and words of affirmation are important to me while receiving gifts is less significant. Knowing how I best feel loved helps me understand that not everyone is wired the same. While words of affirmation are important to me, it may not be important to my spouse or my daughter.

Knowing how people receive love helps us love more effectively. Click To Tweet

Consider the Other Person

Since we don’t all feel love in exactly the same way, it is helpful to think about the other person.

When you want to show your son love, think about his love languages and what means the most to him. Maybe that is gifts, so a simple dollar store ball may mean the world to him. For your daughter she may need more words of affirmation. Telling her how proud you are of her will go further than any dollar store toy could.

Give love in a way that is meaningful to the other person. Click To Tweet

These building blocks will help you love those around you better today and everyday.