6 Best Couple Resolutions for 2023
New Year’s Eve is a magical time for any person who commemorates it. Each New Year gives us all a fresh, clean start. Like individuals, couples can use New Year’s Eve to celebrate their relationship and work towards becoming a better partners by putting your past behind you and recommitting your focus on goals for the future.
Setting your New Year’s goals as a couple strengthens your connection and reinforces commitment. The best part of working on your goals together is having a partner to hold you accountable who will celebrate your achievements with you. I have suggested six couple goals that marriage therapists recommend. Try one or two of them, and once you achieve your goal, set another one.
- Engage in a new activity together once a month. Research indicates that couples who pursue new things together feel closer and happier. Mark your calendar for one new activity each month. Take turns deciding what to try - and follow through. Examples include: exploring a new city or town, trying a new exercise routine or class, enrolling in a cooking class, or learning a new language.
- Learn how to fight fair. Every couple argues, but not every couple fights fair. When you feel attacked or talked down to during an argument, you allow your arguments to rip the two of you apart. Adjust the way you argue: find a quiet place without distractions before discussing hot topics, listen more carefully, and focus on changing your perspective rather than winning. This will help you both feel connected and enhance your ability to problem-solve together as a couple.
- Take digital breaks together. Technology has become a necessary way of life, but when couples spend too much time on computers and cell phones, they destroy romance. It is important for couples to take digital breaks and focus on their relationship and each other. When you plan digital days off and redirect the attention you’d usually give to checking your phone towards being present with your partner, the relationship takes on a new and improved bond. Tell your partner they are a priority by leaving your phone home while out together.
- Plan your finances for your future. Some couples perceive budget discussions negatively, but they shouldn’t be. One of the primary ways couples show their commitment to each other is through their respect of financial goal setting. Planning a vision to travel, send kids to college, and enjoy a certain lifestyle requires both partners to understand the relationship budget and collaborate to achieve future goals. Schedule budget talks once a month with a plan for spending to feel closer and more secure.
- Reboot your love life. Partners who feel noticed, desired, and cared for are happier in marriage, but every couple experiences phases when intimacy is lacking. Use the new year to set a goal to share more intimate time together, which can include more touching and hugging or even spending 30 minutes visiting while cuddling. Life gets busy. If your calendar is booked with other things, schedule daily meet-ups with your partner.
- Practice kindness and break one bad habit together. It’s ironic that the people closest to us are often the ones we use the least kind words with. Work on breaking bad habits the two of you share. For example, increase your use of please and thank you, employ encouraging words, and ask your partner what they like to hear when they feel discouraged or upset. Place a dollar in a special jar when your partner is kind and respectful, and plan to reward yourself as a couple with a weekend getaway once you’ve reached your goal. Your relationship will become more enjoyable - and you’ll boost each other’s mood.
When couples unite on goal setting and make realistic resolutions, nothing can stop them. No relationship is perfect, and every relationship can benefit from two people working towards improvement goals! The New Year looks bright when you both commit to becoming better partners for each other.