When you find yourself and your partner stuck in a rut, try these six simple tricks to break out of the doldrums and rediscover some of the spirit that you found when you met each other.
1. Start A New Hobby Or Sport Together
Naturally, each person enters a relationship with interests and skills that are not shared by their partner. While most couples will have some hobbies and activities in common, there will usually be an unequal level of interest and skill that will always mark that activity as belonging to one person over the other. By undertaking a new pastime together, you have the opportunity to start on an equal footing while learning and growing together.
2. Do One Nice Thing Each Day
Busy people often leave stressful lives, making it nearly impossible to find the time and effort to sustain their relationships when they are just trying to get by. Nevertheless, any romantic relationship worth keeping is worth making a singular gesture each day that reinforces your feelings towards each other. When your moods are down, make a pact to do one nice thing for each other each day for a limited time, perhaps a week. You can buy a small gift, cook a meal, or offer a massage. It sounds easy, but after you have exhausted the easiest and most obvious ideas, you will find yourself struggling to grasp exactly what you can do to please your partner. Learning what those things are is the entire point of this exercise.
3. Generate One Compliment Each Day
Like doing a nice thing each day, offering up a unique compliment daily is easy at first, but becomes more challenging each day. Beyond making each other feel appreciated, the search for what makes your partner attractive and unique will generate fresh insights into your personalities.
4. Turn Off The Media
There is no escaping the influence of television, telephones, radio, texts, and the Internet. All of these necessary technologies infiltrate your relationship, distracting your attention from each other. You don’t have to wait for a power failure to pick a day and turn off all of your electronics. Spend that time together in the most meaningful way possible knowing that the world will get along just fine while you are disconnected.
5. Make New Friends Together
Some couples grow distant from their friends when they spend more time with each other, while others tend to spend their social time with the same couples repeatedly. If you need to inject some new life into your romantic relationship, try engaging in new social relationships. Ask out co-workers and their partners, or go take part in activities frequented by other couples.
6. Learn Something New
Personal growth is always important, but growing together can have the added advantage of strengthening the bonds of your relationship. To take advantage of this effect, try taking a class together, reading the same books, or simply attending an interesting lecture. These activities will require you to spend quality time together discussing and debating new ideas.
The key aspect that all of these tips have in common is that they force couples to break out of their routines. By thinking creatively about yourself, your partner, and your relationship, you can escape the pattern you are in and enjoy a fresh new perspective.