Two Simple Ways to Enhance Joy in your Relationship
By John M. Grohol. Posted on .
This guest article from Psych Central was written by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S.
As a couple, when you’re dealing with the many demands of day-to-day life, it can feel like the fun has been zapped from your relationship. But contrary to popular opinion, you don’t necessarily have to do anything spectacular or pricey to bring the enjoyment back.
More from YourTango: The Blame Game
Below, Susan Heitler, Ph.D, a clinical psychologist in Denver who specializes in couples and author of The Power of Two: Secrets of a Strong & Loving Marriage, offers a simple 2-step plan to perk up your relationship.
1. Do a joy audit.
Ask yourself ”How much time are we devoting to doing things that we enjoy as a couple?”
Consider a further question. “How enjoyable are we making time together when the activity we need to do isn’t essentially fun?” For instance, you can easily turn “have-to” activities such as cleaning, cooking or running errands into enjoyable shared time, Heitler says.
Also, how much do you enjoy talking to each other? “In general, people enjoy talking together when there’s two things: positivity and new information or ideas,” Heitler says. For instance, she says that positive words like “Yes, I agree,” “That’s an interesting idea,” “I appreciate that,” and “I’m so glad” “create a positive and joyful tone.”
Heitler adds, “What suck the juice out of a relationship are words like ‘but,’ ‘don’t’ and ‘not. These negative words work like subtraction signs.
“They subtract out the positivity in a conversation. And they subtract out the enjoyment that can come from learning new ideas and information from each other.”
2. Design a joy plan.
As a couple, consider, “How might we add more fun to our daily, weekly, monthly or yearly routines?” Carving out time with your loved one doesn’t have to be complicated or an expensive experience.
For instance, Heitler and her family had a foreign exchange student living with them years ago. After dinner, he would sit down in the family room as if he expected the family to gather. So the family added this together time into their routine. They’d hang out, play board and card games, laugh and tell stories before eventually turning on the TV or focusing on personal projects.
More from YourTango: The Break That Can Save Your Marriage
Also, ask yourselves, “What could we do a little differently that could make routine activities more fun?” Heitler says. For instance, when you’re cleaning in the kitchen, turn on music or take this time to share what happened during your day.
What makes working together enjoyable with your partner “is the attitude you bring to the activity, plus your attitude toward each other.” So depending on your attitude, “Doing some of these normal daily routine activities as a team can bring forth surprising amounts of joy and affection,” Heitler says.
