Show gratitude in your relationship

As you prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving and think of all of the things you are grateful for in life, it’s important to remember to verbalize your gratitude towards your significant other.

Show gratitude in your relationship

Say thank you. It’s easy to assume your sweet-honey-love-muffin just knows how you feel about them, but it’s important to actually say it out loud. Especially if you’ve been together for a while now and moved past the honeymoon phase, it’s important to make sure you don’t take each other for granted. A relationship is a give and take so you both do so much for each other on a day to day basis, it can be easy to miss a few thank yous from time to time. Or if you are saying thank you, it may just be second nature or automatic. Are you really taking the time to look them in the eye and show your appreciation? Rather than instantly saying thank you in the same automatic way you would say bless you.

Be specific. Don’t just say thank you. And don’t just say thanks for all you do. That’s great, but it would be even better if you would give specific examples. Like, “Thank you so much for always taking out the trash. I really appreciate that.” or “I can’t thank you enough for helping me prep for that big interview. I couldn’t have done it without you.” Pick specific things to show gratitude for. And express why it was so important or helpful.

Do it often. Thanksgiving is a great holiday to remind us to be grateful, but don’t let the gratitude in your relationship end there. Sprinkle these moments of appreciation throughout the year. They should be random and immediate. Don’t wait until a holiday comes up to show you care. And don’t wait too long after they do something thoughtful to say thanks. You want it to still be fresh in their mind.

The holiday season can be busy and stressful, but before you get stressed out about shopping for holiday dinners and picking out great Christmas presents, take a moment to pause a appreciate your significant other. After all, they’re probably going to be the reason you make it through all the stress of the season!