How to celebrate the good times together

The year is almost over so it’s easy to look ahead to the unlimited possibilities of 2024 (will we finally have Back to the Future flying cars???).

But before you close the door on ‘23, look back at the past year: Remember the challenges, and also the reasons to celebrate.

Sunaina and I faced health issues, chronic anxiety, and potty training. We also went on our first big family vacation, Sunaina got a raise, and potty training eventually ended.

It’s easy to dwell on the hard times (potty training was no joke!), but don’t forget to celebrate the good times too.

Let’s all celebrate and have a good time

Celebrating together can help you and your partner create a stronger bond and feel closer. It can also help you appreciate the things you’re both grateful for.

We often think of celebrations as big parties or expensive dinners, but you can celebrate without going anywhere or spending money.

All you need to do is talk about the good times together.

And here’s a tip to get even more out of your celebrations: Replace your generic affirmations with specific, active affirmations.

That’s the difference between me congratulating Sunaina on her raise with “Nice job, honey,” and “That’s awesome! You worked hard for that raise, and you deserve every cent.”

Research shows that you can actually HURT your relationship by offering passive and generic affirmations like the first example.

And that makes sense.

Think about how it feels when somebody writes “Happy birthday” on your social media feed versus something like, “I’m grateful for all the times you’ve been there for me, and I can’t wait for our next adventure together. Happy birthday.”

The first message is a limp handshake, the second a warm hug.

If you can celebrate with specific, meaningful affirmations like this on a regular basis with your partner then you’re well on your way to building a happy relationship together.

To REALLY knock the socks off your partner, write them a letter or card using my Meaningful Memory Method with your partner as the subject.

But if that seems like a bit much, you can still end the year on a positive note by celebrating the year’s highlights with your partner in a warm conversation.

Thanks for a wonderful year

Sunaina and I want to thank you again for spending your precious time with us. We like to have fun sometimes, but we always do our best to earn our place in your inbox with our best relationship advice.

On a personal note, we’re going to take the next couple of weeks off to spend time with each other and our families.

We hope you can also use this time to look back and celebrate everything you accomplished this year. It’s probably more than you realize!

Regardless of what happened this year, we know you did your best and we’re proud of you.

See you in 2024 (with flying cars??).

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