Love can be easy and everlasting, and it also requires focus, dedication, and intentionality.
Relationship rituals are a simple, yet powerful way to nurture and grow your love.
Created as intentional dedications, relationship rituals are habits you do consistently - often on set days or at particular times - to support your love to grow and your bond to deepen.
When we commit to specific behaviors and practices, we prioritize our relationship. In turn, our relationship can thrive.
What relationship rituals are important to you?
Keep reading to discover seven simple ideas for keeping things fresh, strengthening your bond, and supporting your love.
1. Gratitude.
It’s easy to fall into the rut of taking your partner for granted. Maybe they always take out the trash or take care of the dishes. Maybe you always ensure the bills are paid or pick up the groceries on the way home from work. Gratitude ensures we never take our partner for granted, and instead, continually acknowledge the things they do for us and for the relationship.
Make it a ritual to show your appreciation regularly, not for the big, obvious things alone. It’s easy to say ‘thanks’ for a surprise gift, but what about the daily cup of joe in bed or how your partner puts the TV remote exactly where you like it!
Acknowledging the little things makes a huge difference by infusing your relationship with an attitude of gratitude.
[If you want to make gratitude a relationship ritual, you’ll love the Partner Appreciation Notes.]
2. Tech-free dining.
Have you ever been to a café or a restaurant and felt sorry for the person sitting opposite their phone-loving partner?
Digital media does a great job of distracting us and keeping us entertained with constant posts, content, news, and entertainment. After a busy day, it can feel like the easiest thing to chill out in front of a screen and switch off. However, long term, this habit can undermine a relationship by reducing the connection you feel when you’re together.
Try a tech-free dining ritual if your relationship could do with a little more tech-free time. You don’t have to do it every time you eat (because that might not be practical or possible). Instead, choose days or times that work for both of you and make it happen.
During the allotted time, put your phones away, mute notifications, and switch off the TV. Create non-distracted time and space for each other and your relationship. It may feel uncomfortable initially. You may feel the urge to reach for your phone! But stick with it, and see what difference it makes.
3. Date regularly.
Romance can become stale if we don’t invest in creativity and curiosity.
Remember how it felt when you first got together? Everything was new and exciting. All you could think about was spending time together and doing nice things for each other! Once the initial fire dies down, the everyday routine can take root. With different priorities, we don’t as easily find time for each other. As a result, our dating can become predictable or mundane… sometimes even nonexistent!
Create a dating ritual to keep things exciting.
Plan things together. Talk about the ways you’d like to spend time together. Get creative and innovative. And if you want some suggestions, It's A Date is a fun way to infuse anticipation, spontaneity, and excitement into your dating life. Check it out!
4. Intentional intimacy.
Make time for intimacy -- schedule time if you need to. (In the shuffle of life, it’s easier than you think to get side-tracked).
Aim to keep the bedroom fun, fresh, and engaging with intentional intimacy. This intention can take many forms. For example, redefine sex as “meaningful acts of pleasure” and remove the pressure to perform. Try new things. Talk about topics you may not have explored for a while or at all.
The Intimacy After Dark Deck is packed with conversation topics plus fun suggestions for when you want to get a little spicey!
5. Welcome home routine.
How do you welcome your partner when they come home (and how does your partner welcome you)?
Replace that quick, friendly ‘hello’, with a welcome home ritual. Embrace in a long hug and kiss. Create an intentional moment of reconnection after being apart. This simple ritual helps creates closeness and deeper appreciation for each other.
Try it for yourself and see.
6. Exercise together.
Exercising with your partner is a great way to stay fit and healthy as well as an opportunity to spend quality time together.
Choose something you enjoy, such as walking, running, or taking a gym class together.
Enjoy the prep, the activity, and the feeling of rushing endorphins after a good workout.
7. Talk daily.
One of the most potent rituals for any relationship is time and space for meaningful conversations. How many couples wake up one day and realize they forgot to talk? It sounds crazy, but again, the shuffle of life makes it easy to take your partner for granted. Before you know it, you’re switching off in each other’s company instead of turning on to each other.
Try ritualizing conversations over a cup of tea or coffee (or something else).
As well as talking about the things you’ve been doing and the stuff that’s been happening, remember to talk about how you feel. Talking about your emotions helps infuse emotional intelligence, empathy, and resiliency into your relationship. It’s also powerful for improving mental and emotional well-being.
When you keep talking, you make it easier to stay on the same page. You allow stresses and issues to come to the surface faster, allowing you to explore a resolution before an issue festers into something more problematic. In this way, conversation can be a preventative tool. When we talk together, we’re less likely to experience conflict over the little things.
A conversation ritual can enhance the bedroom experience too. When couples feel emotionally connected, they often feel more sexually connected.
Prompt cards can help invite fresh conversation. Check out the Intimacy Deck or the Relationship Deck for various conversation starters.
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What relationship ritual will you start today?
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