Our Anti-Resolution List

This post originally appeared on The Couples Post in Jan. 2022. We decided to re-post it this week as it offers some great ideas to ponder. Everyone at The Couples Post would like to wish our readers a Happy and Healthy 2024.

Every New Year, articles pop up about making resolutions. This year, we have taken some common resolutions and would like to propose our own list.  We are calling it Our Anti-Resolutions List 

5. New vs. Old

One of the most popular resolutions is to travel to NEW places. While we are a big supporter of seeking new adventures, in our anti-resolutions list, we offer, rediscovering the OLD places you have traveled to. Who cares that you always go to the same destination?  You don’t live there and something is guaranteed to have changed since you were last there. Ask a local, go for a drive or simply take a walk. Sometimes, when we change how we experience a familiar location, the results can be magical. 

4. Save vs. Spend

Another popular resolution is to SAVE time, money, etc. While we agree that saving is important in our anti-resolutions we say, SPEND time together. Resolve to go with him to the golf course or (why not) go get a pedicure with her!  Now more than ever, there is a simple joy that comes from just being with the one we love.  Remember, this is the person you vowed to spend your life with and investing in quality time together matters. 

3. Less vs. More

What about the popular resolution to be LESS stressed. We agree that we all need to find ways to reduce our stress.  However, in our anti-resolution list, we offer being MORE impressed. I am impressed that after all these years, Chris still opens the car door for me. Chris is impressed that I send thank you cards, birthday cards and anniversary cards with both of our names on them. 

2. Quit vs Begin

Maybe one of your resolutions in the past has been to QUIT a bad habit.  This year, in our anti-resolution list we want to BEGIN a habit of gratitude.  As parents, we tried to instill the habit of saying thank you in our daughter.  But how often are we truly appreciative?  Consider this, gratitude research uses this statement to sum up the power of gratitude: More than other emotion, gratitude is the emotion of friendship. It is part of a psychological system that causes people to raise their estimates of how much value they hold in the eyes of another person. Gratitude is what happens when someone does something that causes you to realize that you matter more to that person than you thought you did.

1. Lose vs. Gain

The number one most popular resolution is to LOSE weight. Of course, we agree that committing to a healthy lifestyle is important, but in our anti-resolutions list, we want to GAIN insight. There is always something fascinating to learn about your spouse. Did you know that he hates vinegar because he used to suck his fingers and his parents broke that habit by dipping his fingers in vinegar? Did you know she refused to be a model when recruited by a modeling agency because she told her mom that she wouldn’t know how to act stuck up? 

Whatever your resolutions may be, we hope this year’s 365-page story is AMAZING!