New Year’s Resolutions You Can Make as a Couple

To some, making New Year’s Resolutions is a waste of time.

Sure, making them is easy. You evaluate your relationship, think about the healthy practices you can start doing, and hope you won’t forget about them.

New year’s Resolutions often get a bad rap for being pointless, mainly because people disregard them after promising to change such habits. But what about those who successfully fulfilled theirs?

It’s because of the ripple effect. Positive changes, regardless of how little, can always affect all the other things in your life. With a healthy mindset and perseverance, you and your partner will most likely pull it off.

Resolutions are not supposed to be an overhaul of your relationship. Rather, they serve as guidelines and stepping stones to help you navigate better. Though you may be in a healthy relationship with her right now, there are still ways for it to become better.

How do you make resolutions as a couple, you ask?

Set a designated screen time.

Kurt Smith, a therapist from Roseville, California, observed that most of his clients complain about their partners who spend long hours on their gadgets. This habit easily deteriorates your intimacy and isolates you from each other. Over time, this will cause more problems when neglected.

Make a joint resolution on minimizing your hours on the phone and do more things together instead.

Steer clear of assumptions.

It’s hard not to make assumptions, especially when you’re in a long distance relationship. Being far from each other compels you to think that you know what’s on each other’s mind. Worse, you might even get mad at one another for no reason, despite not having a proper conversation.

This New Year, promote a healthier relationship with her by having rational discussions and problem-solving methods for your issues.

Choose your battles.

Trivial and meaningless fights are counterproductive for every relationship. Rather than bickering endlessly with each other about things that aren’t even worth your time and attention, choose your battles.

True, nitpicky fights are not that big of a deal, but over time, degrading words and offensive remarks can weaken your relationship. After all, you’re not two children fighting over who gets the cup with more milk, are you?

Start doing spontaneous activities every once in a while.

Being a long-term couple makes it all too easy to get comfortable in your relationship routines. You get up, send each other a good morning text, get to work, go home, and talk over the phone before going to bed. The next day you wake up and do the exact same things.

While this isn’t wrong, stirring up excitement in your relationship can help elevate your intimacy. Somehow, it takes you back in time to the days when you were younger. Get out of your comfort zone and explore things as a couple.

Avoid saying words you don’t mean.

When you say hurtful words to her, chances are, you’ll regret saying them afterward. By the time you reconcile, you’d feel bad for letting your emotions get to you. However, take note that this goes both ways.

This time, make it a habit to avoid saying unkind and curse words to each other. If you’re arguing over the phone, try your best not to hang up, as it would only make the situation worse.

Strive for better intimacy.

Are you struggling with how to stay emotionally connected in a long distance relationship? There’s only one word for that: intimacy.

Intimacy goes beyond and outside the walls of your bedroom. In a much deeper sense, intimacy is all about emotional honesty, trust, and connection between a couple. Even if you’re far apart, work on these three important aspects of your relationship.

Start by having meaningful conversations. Value honesty. It will serve as the foundation of your trust for each other. Most importantly, spark a connection by allowing yourselves to be vulnerable in front of each other.

Be more thankful together.

Gratitude is closely associated with happiness. The more you’re content and thankful for what you currently have, the better your state of happiness will be. Being happy benefits your relationship by bringing about a positive impact on your physical and mental well-being.

As a couple, it’s a healthy relationship practice to express your gratitude a lot more often and in a sincere way. Help your relationship thrive by appreciating what she does for you, even the simple things.

The key here is to never forget to say the words, thank you, because they mean so much more than you can imagine.

Improve your listening skills.

One of the best things about being in a relationship is knowing that there’s someone who’s always there to listen. When you feel like the world is caving in on you and no one is willing to lend an ear, you can rely on each other.

To promote this aspect of your relationship, make it a part of your resolution to improve your listening skills. If you think you’re already good at this, try to find minor faults and work on them.

Commit to your New Year’s Resolutions.

You could add a hundred other things to your list, but one thing you shouldn’t forget is to commit to the resolutions you want to work on. Maximize the benefits of changing your old habits by giving every inch of your effort.

Know that the amount of work you put in is directly proportional to the overall health and state of your relationship. While both of you may prefer to prioritize it, resolutions are not the basis of everything you want to practice as a couple.

Before the year comes to a close, evaluate where you are now in your relationship. Have you made significant changes with each other? Have you drawn realistic expectations so far?

In a nutshell, one goal or two can always make a difference in your relationship. Don’t be discouraged by setbacks because they are only temporary.

Start the year right by starting it on the right foot. Make New Year’s Resolutions as a couple and try your best to follow through.