this is one of my favorite topics as it is not the natural human state to be indefinitely emotionally or sexually monogamous, however, I find short-term sexual relationships to be generally unsatisfactory and greatly prefer longer-term relationships with women. My current relationship is now past the two year mark and it is not the longest relationship I have had, but it is the longest exclusive relationship I have had. The relative success of my current relationship would not exist if it weren't for the difficult-to-stomach lessons I've learned on the way.
I've found the most important thing is to never let the relationship or each others' lives stagnate - always keep growing, preferably together. I don't just mean going on nice vacations or taking sky-diving lessons either - sometimes you should just sit and read a book to each other and discuss every chapter after you read it, paint some pictures and talk about what they mean to you, get your hands dirty and plant that garden, or just play in a stream and build a dam - it's easy to get caught in routines and sometimes that can be very comforting for the both of you, but it is also very dangerous. When there is no potential for surprise, excitement, or spiritual connection that is when passion begins to fade - but you certainly don't want chaos and instability. All of this is why you want to make sure that the person you're going to invest all this effort and care into is going to be worth it, or at least have a chance at being worth it. It's easy to know what women you'd like to get into bed; it's a lot harder learning how to spot the ones where it really makes sense to start trying to build something together.
like so many areas of life it's important to stay in motion - life is about impermanence and change; these are constants that you must embrace
and yeah, making money doesn't hurt
CHAT
