💟 As a reminder, this is a fun, free challenge to infuse your relationship with a little extra nutrition.

(If you're not in the market for a relationship boost right now, I hear you. Just click here to opt out 🫶🏻)

Here's what to expect this week:

✨4 simple, actionable prompts to try with your partner right away (just enough to really give your relationship a little extra juice without taking on too much).

✨Each prompt will include the activity, the rationale and research, and tips for making it a success.

✨Remember - this is a relationship boost - complete it with your partner!

Day 1: Make You Feel My Love 💕

🧐Fun fact: this exact activity originates in way back in couples therapy science and has been shown to enrich relationships!

➡️Here's the backstory. You long for more positive interaction - more hugs, more kisses, more thoughtful questions, more smiles, more playful butt slaps. But the more you try to describe what's wrong, what's missing, the more you activate your partner, leading to more negative interactions.

Today's activity flips the typical cycle around. Instead of focusing on what your partner isn't doing, you'll focus on doing things for your partner to make them feel more loved. Here's what to do.

Step 1 - 📋 List It Out

Sit down with your partner. Silently, write a list of small, achievable things your partner could do for you this week. They'll do the same - list things you could do for them that would make them feel loved and connected. Each person identifies 15-20 ways they'd like to receive love.

⭐️The key here is to keep your ideas small and specific ⭐️

Only list things your partner could easily do, with minimal planning and money.

❌If you recently fought about something, don't include the topic of that fight in your list. So if you argued last week about your partner not doing the dishes, writing "do the dishes" on your list is not the move.

✅Expand beyond stereotypes. Although it's fine if you want to receive flowers, include other ways your partner can show love, especially ideas that require little time, money, or planning.

🌶️While you certainly can put sexual desires on the list, focus on small, easily achievable acts (now is not the time to propose an elaborate sexual fantasy). And your partner is absolutely not obligated to choose any sexual wishes from the list to offer you.

💡 Examples to get your ideas flowing:

• Offer me spontaneous neck rub
• Ask me extra follow-up questions about my day
• Bring me a little snack plate while I'm working
• Text me an idea for a date night
• Sit next to me while I watch sports
• Initiate a spontaneous make out session (but don't take it any further)
• Reach out and hold my hand on the couch
• Thank me extra appreciatively for something I did for us

When you've completed your list, share it with your partner.

No need to discuss it much, just hand it over and take theirs 🤝.

Step 2 - 💜 Show Up!

EACH DAY THIS WEEK, offer your partner 5 items from their list. Yes, every day, 5 times a day! Because you kept your lists achievable, 5 is no biggie.

Now this is key 🔑

🤫 DON'T TELL THEM! 🤫

👏I'll say it again - when you offer your partner the loving gestures they wrote on their list, don't inform them. No asking for credit for doing your "homework." No telling them how many you've completed.

Throughout each day, just offer them at least 5 of the actions from their list. You get to choose which ones. If they ask you, "was that one of my 5," just shrug and wink 😘.

If you're competitive, see how many sweet acts you can squeeze into one day (remember, this is why you kept your lists low-key, not fancy or expensive) - but again, your count is just for you to smirk over, not for you to hold over your partner.

Meanwhile, your partner will do the same, giving you the love you asked for WITHOUT telling you.

Tips for Success

💝 Give without expectation. This activity is not about reciprocation or equality. It's about the intentional shift from thinking about how your partner could better please you to thinking about how you could better please them. It's about observing the impact on them when you put effort into loving them.

🔢 Count your own loving acts, not your partner's.

🙏 Share appreciation! If your partner offers you a gesture of love that hits the spot, tell them. Say thank you. Smile. Reciprocate loving words.

You've got this!💪🏽

Your next prompt will land on Saturday.

🔥Here's a hint - it's called "Just The Tip."🔥

Go get those loving vibes!

Dr. Marina

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Dr. Marina Rosenthal, PhD, LP

@drmarinarosenthal

connect@drmarinarosenthal.com

www.drmarinarosenthal.com

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