During the New Year, many of us spend time thinking about our future: what can we change to improve our lives? But it is also valuable to take time and reflect on the past. What you learn can provide valuable lesson for moving forward.
Particularly, you should revisit past moments of love with your partner. Browse through your photo albums. Get out old scrapbooks and yearbooks. Go through your Facebook or Instagram history.
It’s fun – and it will help remind you both of your shared history as you laugh and cry together.
Then consider taking it one step further: relive some of the memories. Go back to visit the place where you had a first date. The park where your family did your first holiday photo shoot. Or even the venue for your wedding!
Talk about what made each moment so memorable.
Not just the big events, but the smaller moments, too. It can help you uncover other ways to make one another happy in the year to come.
What activities did you do together that helped you bond? What places did both of you enjoy visiting the most? What behaviors did you engage in that your partner valued?
As you have grown and changed together, you may have lost touch with some of the things that initially bonded you together. The good news is you can always bring them back!
Talk about the rough patches in the past.
They could be related to your relationship – or related to other challenges, such as the death of a loved one, job loss, or health issues.
How did you come out of them together? What did you do for one another during those troubling times? What words did you share that were most meaningful?
If you are going through a rough patch again right now, it can help remind you what worked in the past.
Imagine what your life would be like without your partner.
Imagining their absence may help you appreciate them more – and put your day-to-day challenges in perspective.
No matter where your relationship is today, remember that this shared history is something valuable. You don’t have it with anybody else. That makes it incredibly valuable and worth fighting for each day.
Make 2018 the year that you both commit to finding new and old ways to bring one another happiness, fun, and love.
Need help? Consider a couples workshop or Delaware couples counseling.
