Feels good man
Now that I've answered your question, I'll use the rest of my words to answer another, one that has captivated scientists, philosophers, and 90s dance music afficionados alike: what is love?
Disclaimer: I've known the undivided, passionate attention of a tall, smart, beautiful girl for a grand total of about three hours in my life. The rest of my experience with true love is second-hand. Now let me tell you the gospel truth.
I allowed Disney and the Catholic Church to define it for me as a kid, because unfortunately my parents never showed me anything that would count. They married for a clear objective: he was 40, she was 35, and they needed kids. In a moment of unguarded emotion, my dad also admitted that he liked my mom's cookies. I wish he was being metaphorical. Receiving the definition of love from Disney and church is all well and good if you're a girl, because guys will come to you. All you need as a girl is a set of standards to sort out the idiotic fuccbois and manipulative niceguys from the real men. As a guy you need to be a bit more proactive; I knew there was a problem when Jesus and Santa never answered my prayers for a girlfriend under the christmas tree, year after year. I became so demoralized by the experience that I even stopped believing in Jesus.
Without any further guidance for how to find love, I latched onto the first idea that seemed promising, and became the world's most prolific, least successful pickup artist. Pickup isn't a set of tricks so much as it is a philosophy. First and foremost, you must believe yourself to be worthy of love. Otherwise, when you compliment her hair and introduce yourself, you will feel and come across as a used-vacuum salesman. It doesn't feel good. Then she'll smile at you and say "nice to meet you!", which somehow feels even worse. I've heard that line so many times, sometimes accompanied by two taps on my shoulder. Never one or three, always two. I wish they'd spit in my face or spill their drink on me. At least then I'd know that I elicited an emotional reaction from them, and actually connected with them on some level. If you're having trouble loving yourself, then try giving yourself a reason to. What do you love in others? Attitude? Work ethic? Skill at a task? Emulate that. Always be improving. Once you do cultivate self-love, then you can work on acing the sociology test that the girl will present you with. But that's off-topic.
Here is what I believe true love to be, with input from psychologists and neuroscientists. It has three components. The loss of any one of these three will not ruin an established relationship, there just won't be any "true love" any more. Each of these components corresponds to a different chemical in the brain. Translated into english, the chemicals are:
1. Lust. You have to want to fuck. So guys, make sure your girlfriend is hot. If you aren't able to get a girlfriend that you consider attractive, then try harder. This is your happiness we're talking about. I don't even know what makes a girl want to fuck. If I did, then I probably wouldn't be on this website. I'd be out at the bars every night acquiescing more fuck buddies, business connections, and friends for life than I'd know what to do with. It probably has more to do with personality than looks; girls are weird like that.
2. Affection. You have to want to cuddle after you fuck. If Lust is when your body says "I love you.", then Affection is when your mind says it. This is Disney's conception of love; admittedly, it makes for a good subplot within a movie. You do feel affection for your partner, right? What qualities do you admire about them? Please don't say tits. A good answer would involve her objective virtues as a person. Conscientiousness, tenderness, ambition, whatever it is that you value. As an added bonus, when you do feel like it, cuddling has been shown to lower cholesterol, neuroticism, and chance of developing Alzheimers.
3. Attachment. You have to want to make her pancakes after you cuddle. Seeing each other becomes a routine, like going to the gym, except when the routine is disrupted, you get depressed. This is the mechanism that allowed our ancestors to remember who their partners were while they were not cuddling and fucking. Without attachment, there is no relationship, no monogamy, no way to effectively raise children. I've never had a girlfriend, so this is also entirely speculation.
There are three balls to juggle here, and if you drop one, your wife will secretly hate you. She will divorce you and take half of your house, your savings, and your testicles. Your kids will not respect you, and your parents will disown you. Your only friends will be lawyers, and only while you're a paying client. No pressure.
Your companion in pathetic longing,
Swag