It is a crisp Sunday afternoon here in my Swiss chalet, the first of March, 2026. Looking out over the snow-covered peaks, I find myself in a reflective mood. The world outside is moving faster than ever, driven by algorithms and instant gratification. In my professional life, I thrive on efficiency, but lately, I have been thinking about a realm where efficiency is often the enemy of depth: the human heart.
I have a growing sense that in this era, true love is slowly disappearing in favor of transactions. We no longer truly look for a relationship; we look above all to obtain something for ourselves. We want to feel good, to have our needs met, and to tick boxes on a mental checklist. It is as if we have applied the logic of the marketplace to the sanctuary of the soul.
Saying “I love you” seems to have lost its weight. For many, those three words no longer signal a profound commitment. Instead, they trigger a fear of emotional dependency or the dread of being trapped in a potentially toxic relationship. We have become so hyper-aware of “red flags” that we have forgotten how to see the green fields of potential in another human being.
The Prison of the Modern Couple
Today, the couple is often lived not as a haven of peace, security, and fulfillment, but as a prison. It is seen as a place of conflict, emotional insecurity, and a loss of personal freedom. We guard our “space for self” with such ferocity that we leave no room for anyone else to actually inhabit it. We have become consumers of one another, finding what suits us in the moment and discarding the rest.
As soon as things no longer go our way, we stop everything. We move on to someone else, or worse, we ghost. This disposable culture is the antithesis of what I call the golden path. In my recent article, March 2026: Balancing Crypto Trends, Bridgerton Fervor, and the Golden Path to Freedom, I talked about finding a balance in life. That balance is impossible to achieve if our personal lives are a revolving door of half-hearted connections.
Loving yourself is essential; you must have enough love within to have some to share. If you do not, your search for a partner is just a flight driven by fear rather than a journey led by the heart. With this lack of genuine love, there is a feeling of never being truly satisfied. Nothing is ever enough, and nothing ever quite reaches the heights of what we imagined in our curated fantasies.
The Shift from Giving to Demanding
The focus has shifted. It is no longer about what we can offer the other person or what we desire to bring to their life. Instead, the focus is entirely on what we expect from the other. We want for ourselves without ever wanting to feel used, yet we treat the other person as a utility. This is a paradox that cannot be sustained.
Social networks and dating sites feed this fire. They tell us that if someone is not “enough” for us, or if they do not do “enough,” we should simply move on. They whisper that the grass is always greener elsewhere. But the truth is that the same patterns will repeat elsewhere. It is not just a question of the person in front of you; it is a question of your mindset and your heart.
Love is something that is built. It is hard, and it is rarely easy. You can always go look elsewhere, but you risk failing again in the exact same way. I am not saying one should stay at all costs when love is gone or when the relationship is truly degraded. However, if love is too easy, if there are no disagreements or adjustments, then something is wrong at the core.
The Beauty of Imperfection
A relationship without friction is often a relationship where people have stopped being honest. One day, without warning, the heart is no longer there because frustration and resentment have taken up all the space. This happens quietly, without raising one’s voice, because people are afraid to say “no” or to cause a scene. But real love is made of imperfections and difficulties.
In fact, the depth and solidity of love are measured by the obstacles it overcomes. To love is precisely to accept the imperfections of each other. What is a love relationship, after all? It is a sentimental connection between two human beings who are completely different and who come together to compose something new. It is a sort of affective symbiosis between two beings who are meant to be autonomous.
Even if we have an ideal, we often delude ourselves into thinking we will find the perfect person. In reality, no one can meet all our criteria. And even if they did, I think we would still be dissatisfied. It would be too perfect, even boring. I believe in that inexplicable love where you meet someone and the ground does not seem ready for building, yet something unexplainable happens.
The Work Beyond the Emotion
When the link is strong and the connection is deep, it becomes an evidence for the heart, even if the head is full of fears. But that evidence is something you have to work for. Love alone is not enough. You have to learn to function correctly and respectfully together. You do not leave just because the feeling wavers or because old wounds are reactivated. It is important to fight to allow love to exist a little more each day, despite the hardships.
It is not always easy to know when to insist and fight for a relationship or when to withdraw because you are fighting too much against yourself or the other. I have had relationships I clung to, only to realize we were just fighting each other. I have had others I wanted to preserve, but the other person chose to leave. This is the risk of an open heart.
In my professional world, I use systems to ensure success. For instance, I rely on Systeme.io to manage the technical side of my business so I can focus on my creativity. But there is no Systeme.io for the human heart. You cannot automate intimacy. You cannot outsource the difficult conversations that lead to growth. While technology gives us the freedom to work from a chalet in the Alps, it cannot replace the manual labor of building a soul-to-soul connection.
Staying Open in a Closed World
As I wrote in my article, The Only Riot Left Is Being The One Variable The System Cannot Solve, there is power in being unpredictable and human. In a world that wants to turn us into data points, choosing to love deeply and imperfectly is a radical act. It is the only way to remain a variable that the transactional system cannot fully grasp or control.
Despite past pains, my heart remains open. I am always ready to leave a beautiful space for a loved one. In the meantime, I live this period of celibacy well. It has its advantages, providing a space for self-reflection and personal growth. I see so many people around me pretending to be independent, but they look so sad deep down. They have mistaken isolation for independence.
Each person has their own story, their own needs, and their own desires, and that is completely respectable. We are all trying to navigate this new world where the old rules of romance have been rewritten by silicon and screens. But despite all of this, I believe that love still has a beautiful future. It is the one thing that makes the golden shoes and the purple suits worth wearing.
We must stop treating our partners like “Information Products,” a concept I explored when discussing The Art of the Information Product: Lessons from the Jean Rivière Method. A person is not a product to be optimized; they are a mystery to be explored. When we stop looking for what we can get and start looking at what we can build, the world changes.
Do you feel that love has become too transactional in our modern age? Or do you believe that the digital world has actually made it easier to find the depth we all crave?
I wish you all a wonderful week of deep connections and meaningful work. Stay bold, stay romantic, and keep your hearts wide open. You can find me sharing more of my journey and my alpine views on my social networks.