New Years Resolutions

I believe New Year’s resolutions are overrated.
I also believe that daily resolutions are underrated.
Each day has new possibilities a new sun rises. Each day you can make good choices.
I just don’t think it should be done only once a year and tied to a calendar date. I see so many people fail miserably by February. They let themselves down and feel worse than before.
 
The two most common New Year’s resolutions are related to health:
I’m going to eat healthier
I’m going to get more exercise
 
Your relationship is not only your greatest asset, it’s your greatest health benefit too. It saves you from the negative effects of bad health: especially mental health issues.
 
They protect your emotional health and wellbeing.
They protect your physical health.
They protect you against loneliness.
They protect your resilience.
They protect you against unhappiness.
They protect you against addictions.
They protect you against anxiety, bipolar and depression.
They protect you against suicide.

Every one of these facts has at least one scientific study to back them up (See Heim 2016, 4). This is not idealistic babble or romantic rubbish. This is scientific fact. No pill can do all this. No amount of exercise can do all of this. No special diet can do all of this.

If you want to do something on New Year’s day to help your health, take the below relationship health check. All of these questions cover aspects that we have looked at over the past year. Click on each question to link to each entry. They are related to questions about your love partner, but nearly all can be applied to any very close relationship that you are invested in.
 
Ask yourself:
 
When your partner needs to share something, do you really listen?
Do you avoid conflict in your relationship just to hide from the truth?
Do you trust your partner enough to let them know what’s really going on inside?
Do you rate the health of your relationship by comparing it to others?
Do you use the “cold shoulder” as silent warfare in your relationship?
Are there unspoken words between you that you don’t have the courage to say?
Do resentful thoughts separate you from your love-partner and feed your pride?
Are there family or friends speaking poisonous words into your relationship?
Are you so different that you seem to always be in conflict?
How honest are you in your relationship?
Are you loving your partner the way they need and want to be loved?
 
Are you on top of all of these aspects of your relationship? We certainly are not. But each new day of the year is fresh start, an opportunity to work on your relationship in some way. When you are working on your relationship, you are working on your health: physical, mental and emotional.
 
Look forward, love forward. Happy New Relationship, every day, from us both.