It’s more productive to think of love as an authentic, intimate, and warm feeling that leads to actions benefiting and supporting a partner. … Although romantic love often starts from passion, it can transform into something more authentic and intimate. Something more meaningful, and thus more fulfilling. However, this can only happen over time, after the “honeymoon phase,” when two partners start seeing each other for who they really are, with all their faults, blemishes, and imperfections. To get to this point, you have to rethink your definition of love. While we often think of love as a warm feeling, it’s more helpful to think of love as something that you do that is connected to what we choose to hold dear. …you may find that loving feelings are actually more likely to come when you choose to be loving to your partner, not because of what you can get but because of what you can give.
Know Thyself 