The Little Things

The Little Things by Georgia Charleston MSW Intern at Everlasting Wellness LLC

“Successful long-term relationships are created through small words, small gestures, and small acts” (The Gottman Institute, 2022, p.1). Couples who are able to provide consistent, small gestures are able to better navigate challenges together, leading to a stronger and more satisfying relationship. It is the little things that we can do in 5 minutes or less to show our partner that we care. This could include giving your partner a hug, holding their hand, writing a quick love note of appreciation, daily rituals to promote connection, using kind words, and providing support.

“You need to let the little things that would ordinarily bore you suddenly thrill you.” — Andy Warhol

Below are shared examples of “The Little Things”:

• “He always kisses me first thing when he walks in”
• “For Christmas my dad got me a microfiber sponge for my car. I kept meaning to take it out to my car but forgot. I got into the car yesterday morning and the sponge was tucked into the passenger door. ? My fabulous, thoughtful partner put the sponge in my car. I almost cried. It was super touching!”
• “My husband took all the kids to the park so I could nap.”
• “Gently moved me out of the way and finished the dinner dishes & counter clean up”
• “Thank you for letting me be me. My weird goofy needy sad happy me.”
• “Cleaned up my place when I was studying”
• “Thank you for supporting my academic success, making me tea, and calling just to say hello.”
• “Cranked up my car and made me coffee”
• “When you hang all the laundry and turn the lights off before bed so I don’t have to. You do these all the time. Thanks for choosing to love me everyday.”
• “Checked in on me with a cute meme and reminded me she loves me.”
• “When I was stressed AF last night and you just asked what you could do to help.”
• “Putting away the left over dinner when I fell asleep on the couch…. putting the baby’s car seat in my car in the morning…. hugging me randomly in the morning”
• “Emptied the dishwasher before I got home”
• “Understanding that certain geometrical shapes satisfy my OCD without me even explaining”
• “Walked me home in the rain”
• “Thank you for always listening to me with sincerity”
• “Helped me stay on track with my financial goals”
• “Changed a scheduled meeting to help her around the house.”
• “Thank you for helping me fill up my windshield washer fluid”
• “Thank you for encouraging me to spend some time on self-care”
• “Agreeing to bring home a foster dog?”
• “Thank you for fixing the straps on my favorite bag”
• “Thank you for keeping my friends and family updated during surgery”
• “Thank you for taking the time to move the heater into the living room during the day! It make the living room so warm and happy to walk into and made me feel thought of”
• “You cleaned up all the things, all the time. And you changed those diapers.”
• “My partner gave me a 6-second kiss every day this week”
• “He wrote me an email about how he thinks about me.”
• “He opened up”
• “Finally remembered to take home a leftovers container!!!”
• “Thank you for doing homework with the kids tonight.”
• “Thanks for tightening all the bolts on my new weight bench!

How will you show your love this week?

For additional support: https://www.gottman.com/podcast/

Reference

The Gottman Institute. (2022). The Little Things You Do. Retrieved from https://www.gottman.com/blog/the-little-things-you-do/