As Lent begins today- it might be worth considering giving up more than just chocolate or coffee. Try thinking about the things that have a detrimental effect on your relationship- could giving them up help bring you closer to your partner?
Lent on Female First
TV- I know this is a big one for many couples as it’s probably the first thing you do when you get in from work. However, with catch up- you can save all of your favourite TV shows for when Lent is over and just spend the time focusing on all other areas of your relationship like, talking, getting an early night or finding new joint hobbies.
Junk Food- if you’re still struggling to get on some sort of healthy eating plan after Christmas, then you might want to start now and use Lent as your clean slate. Prepare and cook your own meals together and actually sit down at the table and eat them opposite one another rather than in front of the TV- it could do wonders for your conversations.
Your phones- You may well need them for work and communicating important things with family and friends but when you don’t need it- why not put it away and use the previous amount of time spent looking at a screen on your partner instead.
Lie Ins- Although they might be the thing you look forward to on a weekend- why not get an early night- get up at a decent hour and make the most of your time off together? Think about the time you waste in bed lounging around on a Saturday and Sunday morning. What you could be doing instead?
Staying up late- If you are a couple that always goes to bed too late and wakes up grumpy and exhausted- why not climb into bed earlier? If you both wake feeling refreshed then you won’t be irritable with each other- plus you can have some extra snuggle time before lights out!
Complaining- If you are one of those couples who love to moan about your lack of money, how you hate your job, how other couples are doing better than you and how you don’t get enough time off- STOP. Make a conscious effort to filter out the complaints and look at what you do have together. A roof over your head, food in the cupboards, each other, friends, family, an income, freedom- whatever it is- choose one thing per day that you are grateful for rather than what you’re angry and resentful about.
Alcohol- If you ae partial to a few tipples to mark the arrival of the weekend- why not put the money you would spend on booze to one side and treat yourselves to something at the end of Lent? You never know- you might realise that you don’t need it after all.
Hoarding- If most of your arguments are about the amount of stuff you have in your home and how you’ve lost control of it- it might be time to have a clear out. You could take your unwanted things down to the charity shop and clear some space. If you have no mess in your home- you could eliminate one cause for complaint at least.
Facebook- When you scroll through your feed on Facebook you might find yourself comparing your relationship to that of your ‘friends’. If you give this up, you might find room to focus on your relationship for what it is rather than aspiring to be like other people’s perfect posts. Chances are- you’re doing just fine.
Working overtime- Sometimes couples get into the habit of staying back at work or going in early when it’s not really necessary. Why not spend the whole of Lent going into work and leaving at the designated time and spend that extra hour or whatever it might be with each other? Your partner will probably be far more grateful for your presence than your office workers- who really want to be at home with their significant others too.
tagged in Couples