Most people care about the person they love, but actions can either draw them closer or push them farther away. Some of this you'll find out by trial and error, while others you'll need to snap yourself out of it and break the routine. Mix it up a little and see what really spices up your relationship, but let's get on with the easy things:

Have you found yourself feeling repetitive? Feels kind of boring, doesn't it. Like you're doing the same thing you did yesterday...only it's a new day. Create a spark of fun, there are many cheap ways to have a blast. Has it snowed? Go have a snowball fight, or make snow angels together. Nice spring or autumn day? Drive to a local scenic park, walk around, have a good time enjoying each others company. Give them a hug or a kiss out of nowhere, the goal is to make the other person feel appreciated and happy, because a change in routine is nice. Holding hands never gets out of style folks, no matter how old you are.

Pay attention to details. For me, the small things will either keep me or drive me far far away from a relationship. I take mental notice of the small things more than the big things. Did they get a hair cut? Nails painted a new style? What about a sexy new dress? Compliment them, and appreciate the view, they like to be noticed. Giving or not giving attention will make or break your relationship, trust me.

Overly Clingy Alert!!! Are you clinging too much? If you can't stand for one moment to be out of your partners attention spectrum or view and would rather cling to their leg, you're being too clingy. It is healthy to be clingy sometimes, as us men like to feel needed in a small way, but over-doing it will land you in the friends zone or worse. Another example is excessive PDA (Public Display of Attention). Ever saw a couple standing in front of you with their tongues down each others throat and thought it was fairly tacky?

Get her flowers on special occasions, don't be dense. It's not a requirement, but it can set a good mood even better. Isn't a few dollars worth the happiness? Now, you shouldn't be buying her flowers every day, because you might send her the "stalker" signal, but flowers on like mothers day, birthday, valentines day are very acceptable.

Take your time. There is no need to rush a relationship unless you really are wanting it to go bad. Enjoy their company, smile. A term I was told a long time ago, is that I could make her smile like a fool without being around. It feels good to know you make your loved one happy to the core of their inner being, I would get light headed and happy just knowing how happy I made her.

Buy her/him something nice every now and again. Even if they tell you that they dislike being bought stuff, it doesn't hurt to give them something. Don't shower them with gifts though, giving them a material gift a day is for gold diggers. Get her a pair of earrings for her birthday...or for Christmas, something that they can remember just how much you love them every time they wear them.

Honesty. Never lie to your loved one, trust is HUGE. Even if it's a tiny little lie, don't do it. I'd rather someone hate me a little for knowing the truth than to despise me for having told a lie.

Be sensitive, but not overly sensitive to their needs. Sometimes you will need to pamper them a little. Rub their feet, their back, calves, shoulders, neck. If you can't pamper them and treat them well, why should they return the favor when you need it? When they're sick, make them some food, help them get better faster. Chances are they'll do the same for you.

Go out with them often. Don't sit around the house day after day...go for a walk...go to the movies, or for a drive. You don't have to spend much money to have a good time. Something to consider as well, cuddling, or spooning. Create a strong emotional bond with the one you love, give them that layer of comfort that just screams "I'm safe".

Joking around is healthy as long as you it's not something done constantly. Call them little love names to provoke a response. I get called "bigfoot" or previously "grampsquatch" because I have very large feet. I know it's teasing and I never take offense to it. On the other hand joking around calling someone a jerk too much could cause hurt feelings. Have lots of fun with him/her just treat them how you wish to be treated.

Above all, follow your heart. Looks should never be the determining factor of a relationship. If you have problems opening up, it might take losing big time to figure out where you need to be going. So make sure it's what your heart wants above all else, and never jump ship because of a stupidly small problem. Make all efforts to work out the small kinks so that big ones are easier to take care of.

I was just watching the last few holes of the 2008 Open Championship again and marveling at the battle between Padraig Harrington, Ian Poulter and the amazing Greg Norman - how does he play golf to that standard over 4 days at 53 having hardly hit a ball all year?

Anyway, I'm watching Harrington surveying his shot to the 17th at Royal Birkdale and consulting as usual with Ronan Flood, his caddy and brother-in-law, over his 259 yard second shot into the par 5. The camera zoomed in on their discussion and then suddenly Padraig's eyes seemed to glaze over and, as Ronan gave him some last few words of encouragement, he just seemed to hit the shot as if on autopilot.

Well we all know what happened. His five-wood traveled straight as a die, landing on the firm fairway and bounding up on to the green before slowing to a halt less than three feet from the hole - absolutely unbelievable!

Padraig's conversations with Ronan continued as they nurtured each other down the final hole and on to a second successive Open title. It was so very different from 2007 when Padraig was quoted as saying: "You know, Ronan did a hell of a job dragging me back into the 18th after I had hit that second shot into the water and you can see from the pitch and the putt that I was back in the zone". So it was a team event that year as well.

Tiger Woods has a similar relationship with his caddy, Steve Williams. Steve was an experienced caddy already when he paired with Tiger. He worked with Greg Norman, Wayne Grady and Ray Floyd, all major champions before teaming up with Tiger in 1999.

Steve summed up his partnership with Tiger saying, "I set myself a target that within the first year, 1999, we would have won a tournament - to prove that we had a good chemistry; to win in the States - to prove it was no walkover; and to win a major - the biggest ambition for any player or caddy. Fortunately, we accomplished all three with Tiger's victory at the US PGA that August."

In that event, With Sergio Garcia on a charge, Woods had just a one-stroke lead and had an eight-foot putt to maintain that lead. Tiger thought the line on it was outside left, but Steve remembered "I kept on saying to him: 'No, no, it's inside left. I've seen this before.' He took my advice and in it dropped." Later that year, Tiger sent him a framed photo of him holding the US PGA trophy and had written on it, "Great read on 17!"

What about the amateur Golfer? Well, very few amateurs use caddies at all and those who do don't have the sort of relationship enjoyed by Tiger and Steve or Padraig and Ronan.

The vast majority of amateur golfers are both caddy and golfer, but the caddy part tends to be just a bag carrier or trolley puller. What's more, the caddy part keeps nagging the player part the whole time, even when playing the shot. There's no escape into the Zone. How would Padraig cope if Ronan kept nagging him while he's playing the shot?

Caddies like Ronan Flood and Steve Williams spend a lot of time walking the course, noting distances, the best positions for approach shots, the slopes and speed of the greens and a host of other things. The amateur has a lot of this information too. They have yardage markers, yardage charts and, of course, they often play the same course every week.

What Ronan and Steve also do is to manage their player. They remind them when to concentrate, when to relax and when to release the shot they've just played - good or bad. They also remind their player about current swing thoughts, pre-shot routines and mental strategies. The amateur has to remember all these things for himself and often doesn't.

Dr Karl Morris, a leading Golf Psychologist has even devised his "Circle Game" in an attempt to help golfers to remember these things. You circle the hole number on your scorecard, if you remember everything you wanted to do on that hole. He suggests that achieving 6 circles out of 18 holes is a good score, so that mean's your mental caddy's gone walkabout for the other 12 holes. Steve and Ronan would get their marching orders if they allowed that to happen. In reality, most people struggle to circle a single hole without outside help.

So what about my own experience? Well, the only time I've ever used a caddy was in my younger days and the caddy was even younger and solely there to carry the bag. However, I did have a playing partner years ago with whom I always played really well and in writing this article I suddenly realized why!

Jim was a friend of my late father. He took up golf in his early 50's and rapidly became a golf fanatic - it often happens, doesn't it. Jim's idol was Arnold Palmer and he even used to refer to himself as "Arnie". His favourite "Arnie" quote was "If all else fails, I can always dig ditches", but in Jim's case, that was the way he played golf!

I was playing off 2-handicap in those days and my father asked me to play regularly with Jim to get his handicap down. It was an interesting experience, because Jim always got to my ball before I did and demanded I explain what I was planning to do with the shot. I would describe the shot I was faced with, the distance and club selection, the effect of the wind and the lie, the landing conditions at the target area and which side of the hole I wanted to land the ball. I would go through a similar description for every drive, every shot, every chip and every putt.

The odd thing was that every time I played with Jim, I scored really well, despite my frustration with his golf. The last round I played with him I scored 68, 4-under par, my best-ever score and I wasn't striking the ball that well. I could never explain why I played so well with Jim - until now.

With the power of hindsight and with my training in Hypnotherapy and NLP, I now realise that by explaining everything to Jim, I became my own virtual caddy. By the time I actually addressed the ball and swung the club, I had a clear visualisation of the successful shot I wanted to play and all I had to do was let my unconscious mind deliver the shot.

Sure, I hit some bad shots, but they usually went in the right direction and I didn't have time to ponder the bad shot, as Jim now wanted to know all about the next shot I had to play.

By becoming my own virtual caddy, I had to look at the shot I was about to play as if I was that caddy - in NLP terms I had to be dissociated or in the position of an interested observer of my playing self - in the second position. When I actually swung the club, I was back in myself mentally associated - in the first position.

How does this help me? Well, the next time you play golf, imagine that you have a "Jim", or whatever name you want to call him or her, in your head, acting as your virtual caddy and asking you to describe the shot you are about to play, in great detail. It's easier to remember, if you get your "Jim" to ask about every shot and every putt. After a few rounds, he'll always be there, helping you.

If you don't believe me, then just try this experiment.

1. Imagine you are on a golf course that you know well and you are facing a particularly difficult shot. Maybe it's one you always find difficult.
2. Remember the scene in as much detail and as vividly as possible. What can you hear and where's the sound coming from. Are there any particular smells or aromas? How are you feeling, right now?
3. If you're like me you're beginning to feel uneasy - perhaps you're starting to panic.
4. I don't know if you've noticed a few other things. Maybe your pulse is starting to race or your breathing has got quicker and shorter as you remember past disasters with this specific shot or others like it. You may even feel a little flushed.
5. And you're likely to hit another bad shot right now, aren't you?
6. Feels bad doesn't it? It's certainly doesn't feel conducive for a smooth relaxed and confident shot.

Now try it another way.

1. Just imagine that you have your own "Jim" advising you and encouraging you. Picture him and imagine the sound of his "voice" and his calm approach to giving you advice, guidance and above all relaxed confidence. Imagine how you'd feel discussing things with your "Jim".
2. Really feel that you are there with your "Jim" and then assess the shot together. Thinking about the distance, the lie, the landing area, the wind and temperature, how you're playing today and any other things that you'd like to take into account.
3. Finally, you're ready to agree on your club choice, your target and the shot your going to play.
4. Now imagine hitting that shot just as you've planned. Firstly, step back out of yourself and "see" yourself hitting the shot, like watching another you doing it, and watch the ball travelling to the target
5. If you're happy with that imagined "shot", then step back into your body and imagine executing the same swing. This time, it's you hitting the ball, feeling the smoothness of the swing, hearing the sound of the club striking the ball and thin turning your head to see the ball flying perfectly to your target.
6. That feels good, doesn't it? You should be feeling confident and upbeat about being well prepared to physically hit that shot.

Once you get used to having your version of "Jim" as your virtual caddy, you can start to get him to help you in other ways. But forget about him carrying the bag though, he's not real - physically. He's just a very real idea in your mind.

So what else could you get "Jim" to do for you? Well, as a part of your unconscious programming, he's always there when you need him, reminding you to do those things you tend to forget, like your pre-shot routines.

He can also help you to concentrate when you need to in a round of golf and to relax when you don't need to. Like willpower, you can only really keep your concentration going for a few minutes at a time and you take a lot longer than that to play a round of golf. You may also want to break your concentration to enjoy the company of other players or just to relax and appreciate the scenery.

Golf is not a game of certainty, if it was, the phrase "rub of the green" wouldn't exist. Your "Jim" can help you get over that as well as taking the sting and anger out of your occasional bad shots.

To find out more about becoming your own virtual caddy and to introduce you to your own "Jim", or whatever you call him or her, listen to the free "Your Own Virtual Caddy" Golf Hypnosis programme, regularly over the next few weeks and see how your golf improves.