What is true love? The honest truth you really didn’t expect

Love isn’t all about what you’ve always thought it was about. Chances are, if you’re truly in love, you know that. We grow up picturing true love as something magical and out of this world. It is pretty damn great, but it’s not always like a fairytale. So what is true love?
It’s work. True love isn’t just about meeting someone and falling in love with them. True love is about sticking it out when times get tough. It’s working together even when you’d rather not even see that person at the moment. You might not be ready to know just what true love is all about.
Most people aren’t prepared for what true love is really like
Oftentimes, people fall in love and a month into being truly in love with someone, they suddenly can’t take it. They’re convinced it’s too hard and so it must not be true love. Make no mistake, you can be in love and have hardships within the relationship.
Love isn’t all fun and games. The initial feeling of bliss wears off and true love is more like a slow burning fire that you always have to stoke. You can’t just expect a relationship to work simply because you love each other. 
What is true love?
Are you really ready to hear all that true love is? You can forget all about your fairytales and knights in shining armor. This is what true love really is and what you’ll need to know if you want to make your relationship with someone you love work.
#1 It’s supporting someone endlessly
Your partner will have dreams and hobbies. If you’re truly in love with them, you’ll support their desires, so long as they’re not harmful to you or anyone else. Even if you don’t fully understand their dreams, you still need to be there to cheer them on.
It’s not always about encouraging them when they’re succeeding, either. It’s about pushing them to keep going even when they’d rather give up because it’s their dream. This might not always be easy to do. 
#2 It’s caring for them no matter the cost
It’s unconditional love. You care for them no matter what happens. Through injury, illness, or even just hard emotional times, you need to be there for them.
Again, this isn’t something that’ll be easy all the time. Your partner could end up going through really hard times that’ll be difficult for you to stick through. But that’s true love.
#3 It’s putting away your pride to make things right
You’re going to argue. Any couple who doesn’t get into arguments at some point are either both lying or they’re not truly in love. Couples fight. Sometimes you’re going to have to bite the bullet, swallow your pride, and apologize.
And you definitely won’t always want to do this. Obviously, you’ll have to talk through your problems and then get to a point where whatever issue you had has been solved. But even then, you’ll have to put away your pride and make things right again. 
#4 It’s actively showing your affection daily
You can’t expect love to last if you’re never putting forth any effort. That fire won’t stay lit unless you stoke it and add something to help it burn.
That something is your affection. Make sure your partner knows how much you love them. Tell them every day. Show them how you feel through kind gestures. You need to make sure they feel appreciated and loved and it’s a daily task.
#5 It’s making an effort even on your worst days
You’re going to have bad days. Some of those bad days won’t have anything to do with your significant other. It’ll be easy to lash out at them in anger simply because they’re there.
True love is about making sure you’re trying to be loving even when you feel far from it. This is really hard when you’d rather mope and seethe in silence. But you’ll have to make it work.
#6 It’s lifting their spirits when you know they’ve had it rough
You love your significant other. You want to make sure they’re happy and therefore, when they’re feeling down, you want to help cheer them up. This means you’ll have to try and try hard to make them feel better when they’re down. Because there will be a time when they’re in low spirits. 
#7 It’s being selfless when they need you to be
True love is not selfish. You have to put someone else above yourself at times. When your significant other is having a hard time, you’ll need to put your own needs aside to help them.
This can be really hard if you’re also not feeling that great and need someone else to take care of you. Occasionally, you’ll have to take one for the team, put your needs aside, and make sure your partner has what they need.
#8 It’s loving their flaws
Everyone has flaws. Your partner will definitely have flaws. True love isn’t about being blind to those things. Instead, it’s about loving those aspects of who they are, anyways.
If your significant other is always forgetful, you might get frustrated sometimes but overall, you’ll learn to love that about them. It’ll be a cute quirk instead of a hindrance. That’s what true love is.
#9 It’s remembering the little things
There will be a lot of stuff you’ll learn about your significant other. True love is about remembering the small, but very important, details. It’s about knowing they hate pepper on their food and making sure the waiter takes down the order right.
It’s about knowing their dog’s birthday because that animal is one of the best things in their life. Making an effort to know the small things and show that you’ve been paying attention is what true love is about. 
#10 It’s wanting the best for them even if it means less for you
Some people won’t be happy with you. It’s just the truth, as hard as that is to accept. If it’s true love you feel for them, you’ll want the best for them even if that means you’ll be unhappy.
I’m not saying you should give in to someone else’s will just because you love them. This means that you’ll have to make some sacrifices for true love. But if it’s with the intent to make the other person happy, it’s really love.
What is true love? Now you know that true love might not always be butterflies in your stomach and stolen kisses. It takes a lot more to fall and remain in true love.