Love vs. Infatuation

What is the difference between infatuation and love?

It is simple. Infatuation is a feeling and love is an action. In the beginning parts of a relationship you get consumed by that person. You think about them all day long. A text, call or e-mail from them causes your heart to beat fast and a feeling of excitement to bubble up in your chest like it’s about to spill over. This stage is intoxicating. It is blissful. Unfortunately many people do not know that this stage is temporary. It does not last.

A tragic thing happens when people do not know this information. People think they are falling out of love when the infatuation starts to fade.  They think their relationship has lost it’s excitement and they start looking elsewhere. They start looking for a person who can give them that intoxicating feeling again, hoping that this time it will last longer. Hoping that fate will draw them to their soul mate and they will magically get along blissfully in love the rest of their life. Divorce after divorce happens because of this way of thinking.

Please understand, LOVE is a VERB. Love is an action, not a feeling. What is beautiful about love is that when the feelings fade, it preservers. Love conquers all. So say you love a person and they lose their job because of a stupid mistake. True love steps up and looks for a way to respect them anyway and support them as they get back on track. Love is intentional about being nice when you don’t feel like it. Love serves when they feel lazy. This kind of love is what lasts. This kind of love is what makes deep and satisfying relationships. This kind of love is a choice that you must make DAILY. It is ongoing.

If you are counting on a feeling to sustain your relationship, I promise you will be disappointed. If you look at this picture above and think, "I want that", you must treat love as an action.