I like you because

Read any book on relationships and you’ll find advice on how to appreciate your partner. The experts tell us that it’s important to compliment and care for our significant others. In fact, the Gottmans (world-renowned couples’ therapists and researchers) found that we need to give

(and receive) about 5 positive statements to every negative statement if we want to maintain a feeling of loving and being loved. Are you thinking about your track record of the past few days? Maybe you have some catching up to do!

Write Out a List

So, what do you love about your partner? Write out a list. Let your imagination go wild! Add all of the things you can remember, even if your boo hasn’t done them often. Bought you flowers once? Add it. Took you on a fabulous vacation six years ago? Put it on the list.

Think also of things that you may not appreciate in the moment – for instance, your partner asking for sex. You may not always feel like saying YES! to your partner, but think how you would feel if they stopped asking.

Does your partner do things that appealed to you a few years ago – like snort when they laugh? Add those items to your list as well.

Thank Them

Does your loved one regularly perform mundane tasks like making the meals, doing the dishes, cooking the meals, or looking after the yardwork? Thank them often. We all love to be appreciated, even for the things we do again and again.

And, if there’s something that your partner does all the time, try a role-reversal, and offer to do it for them today or this week. You are likely to be the recipient of their gratitude.

Look at it Differently

Shift your perspective a little if you’re having trouble finding things to appreciate. Imagine seeing your partner across the room at a party. What do you see or hear that you like? Take the time to think about how other people react to your partner. Is your lover hilarious when you are out with friends (but not so funny when it’s just the two of you)? Add it to the list as something you admire, rather than thinking of it as something lacking between you as a couple.  One of the biggest predictors of attractiveness is competence – actively seek to rediscover the things your lover is good at!

Adjust Your Expectations

Are your standards impossibly high?  One fellow I know folded all the laundry one day (his wife usually did it). She refolded it because it wasn’t up to her standards: you can bet that her husband wasn’t likely to repeat his actions. It’s been said that in modern society we expect our partners to be everything for us – provider, lover, best friend, confidante, and playmate. Therapist Esther Perel in her book Mating in Captivity notes that North American couples tend to want to know everything about their partners, and expect a great deal from them, while French couples keep part of their lives separate, even a little mysterious!  Look to others to provide some of your emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs. And when it comes to your partner keep your expectations modest, and your appreciation high!

Other Bonuses

Once you’ve written out a list, thanked your partner frequently, adjusted your perspective, and checked your expectations, consider other benefits of appreciation.

A noteworthy aspect of positive comments is that they are essential for obtaining a good outcome for a request.

Imagine your beloved coming to you and saying, “If I’ve asked you once, I’ve asked you a hundred times, will you please put away your stuff when you’re done with it?” Can you feel your hackles rising?

Now picture them saying something like, “I want to thank you for your dedication in making that go-cart for the kids. I know they appreciate it! Could you please put away your tools when you have a minute?”

The Gottmans found that when a request is started with a compliment or an acknowledgment of the other’s efforts, it is far more likely to have a successful outcome. Yes, it takes some forethought, and yes, it might be the hundredth time you’ve mentioned it, but with practice we can begin to cultivate appreciation for our partner, even while letting them know what we need.

People who are regularly appreciated may be more likely to express the same to others. It’s a learned skill to point out the positive, and it can become a lifelong habit. And remember that is takes about 6 weeks of consistent behaviour before others notice a difference, so make an effort to be thankful for at least that long.

Give appreciation – get appreciation.