Considering how your relationship could improve can seem impossible and improbable in light of past events. You may have encountered infidelity, betrayal, deception, or disconnection that is strong enough that it seems too big of a chasm to cross.

However, Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu penned these words soon after Rome was established and thousands of years before there was anything like GPS or google maps. Yet he found the journey achievable.

One thing to consider when constructing your thousand-mile journey is identifying where you’d like your final destination. This destination could be a more connected relationship, stronger intimacy, better understanding when in conflict. It could also be more specific like the dream of having a relationship where you look forward to coming home at the end of the day, where your dinner conversations seem like opportunities to feel more connected and less isolated, it could be re-defining “date night” into intentional ways you can invest the connection you have with each other by holding hands more or having better reunions at the end of the day marked by longer kisses and lingering embraces. Flesh out what your destination is. Seek out your partner’s description of the destination too with curiosity and an intent to know each other better.

This.

This is the first step on your thousand-mile journey. And once you repair that connection, the distance of the journey is no longer of greatest importance, maintaining your connection is.