by eHarmony

The New Year sees many of us making resolutions , vowing to improve many aspects of our lives including our relationships . But how many of us then take that vague resolution to make our relationships better and turn it into a series of tangible action points ?

Improve your love life in 2018 with these 10 relationship resolutions :

1 . Think positive . It ’ s so easy to fall into a trap of focusing on the negatives of your partner and your relationship , especially if you ’ ve been together for a reasonable amount of time . This year , instead vow to remind yourself of the things you love about your relationship and why your partner is amazing . It will change the way you handle challenges and lead to fewer arguments .

2 . Let go of the past . That big argument you had last year ( or even the year before )? Move past it . If you and your partner have apologised and made peace with the argument , it ’ s time to move forward . Instead of stacking up past ‘ failures ’ to prove a point , work on ways of building trust in the relationship to ensure that arguments don ’ t become recurring .

3 . Be emotionally honest . Even the most direct individuals sometimes have trouble communicating their true feelings to their partner ( out of fear of being seen as vulnerable or hurting the person ’ s feelings , or being unsure of what response will be received ). It ’ s important to let your partner in on what you ’ re feeling so that they know how to help the situation . Focus on statements that don ’ t shift blame , either – take responsibility for your emotions .

“ I feel …” is an emotionally honest statement , whilst “ You made me feel …” is an example of blame shifting .

4 . Make quality time a priority . For many of us , much of the time we spend with our partner also involves a fair degree of multitasking – the TV is on , we ’ re checking our phones , they ’ re reading a book … the list goes on . Spend dedicated time with your partner where phones are off the table , the TV is off and you have each other ’ s undivided attention . Date Nights are a great way to implement this .

5 . Don ’ t leave sex on the backburner . Life gets busy . We get tired , we get stressed , and we forget how wonderful it is to have dedicated time for uninterrupted sex . Good sex fosters emotional intimacy , boosts your mood , is fantastic for your health and great for your relationship . If sex has become lackluster , don ’ t just settle for it – figure out how you can inject some spice back into that area of your lives . This is why it ’ s crucial to be able to communicate with your partner . Ask them what they ’ d like to explore , and you can communicate your desires too . When you ’ re both communicating openly with each other , you ’ ll feel that spontaneous spark come back into your whole relationship .

6 . Praise more than you criticize . So much of bickering in relationships is caused by needless criticism . Compliment your partner often and before bringing up a niggling little issue , ask yourself if it ’ s worth starting a fight over .

7 . Try something new . It ’ s easy to fall into the habit of doing the same old things all the time . But trying a new hobby isn ’ t

nearly as scary with your partner there with you . And if that hobby doesn ’ t turn out to be right for you , try something else ! At least you ’ ve had a laugh together .

8 . Listen . Don ’ t talk over your partner , or try to finish their sentences . Let them talk , hear them , and let them know that they ’ re heard .

9 . Have a shared goal . Do you both share a bad habit ? Do you both want to achieve the same thing ? Work on it together – it ’ ll bring you closer together and improve not only your relationship , but both of you as individuals .

10 . Be silly ! Work can be boring and the stress of everyday life can take over – but not everything in your relationship has to be so serious . When was the last time you had a water fight , bounced on a trampoline or did something creative together ? Being playful is a great stress reducer and all that fun will get some serious endorphins pumping – spicing up your relationship in more ways than one !

By breaking down the potentially daunting task of “ make my relationship better ” into smaller tasks , your small improvements every day will soon start to add up .