30 Best New Year’s Resolution Ideas for Couples in 2023

New Year’s resolutions for couples are often too vague or too broad. Mostly, these resolutions are not adding to the improvement of the relationship and lack gravitas that serve no value addition.

New Year’s resolutions for couples set goals for the relationship and keep things exciting. When you both agree to put your past behind you, you are opening doors to new beginnings by giving each other enough space to grow together. 

Why do people make new year’s resolutions?

New Year provides the very opportunity to reset your lives and improve the quality of living. Whether you want to have certain lifestyle changes or there are other aspects needing a refresh button, new year resolutions give hope that it’s okay to fail and there’s always a chance to mend things.

Another very important reason for people making new year resolutions is that they feel a sense of control over their lives. Also, the resolutions help trigger the brain through the structure or discipline created inside us. It helps you stay motivated.

Related Reading: 10 New Years Resolution Ideas to Initiate Change in Your Lives

30 new year’s resolution ideas for couples in 2022

Below, read through some good New Year resolutions for lovers that should bring copious joy to you and your partner. 

Claim these golden nuggets as New Year’s resolutions for couples and the other relationships in your life.

Resolution 1– Claim some stillness

One of the first new year’s resolution ideas for couples is based on the concept of stillness.

Every person and every couple needs a little stillness.

Stillness makes us more aware of the pulse of creation with its laughing faces, rustling leaves, and flowing water.

Stillness reminds us that life unfurls and flourishes even when the news is dire and deadly. Stillness opens the soul to the voice of God and our partner that may arrive with a rush of wind or a “still” small voice.

God is moving and speaking even when we are unable to do the same.

Resolution 2– Honor family traditions

The holidays offer us a celebratory song, a chance to slow down to honor family rituals and traditions. The tune highlights the warm currents that gather us around big tables, impressive centerpieces, familiar dishes, good conversations, and lovely spaces.

We gather in love, God’s goodness and light making the food tastier and the conversation richer.

One of the top couples New Year’s resolution ideas for couples include enjoying the celebrations.

Give thanks for blessings, health, family, and new beginnings. Enrich your partnership with wonderful traditions.

Resolution 3– Practice forgiveness

Forgiveness is difficult at times.

As a key component of your relationship resolutions, if you practice forgiveness, you recognize you hurt someone or they hurt you. Forgiveness presupposes personal insight, an awareness that the wounds are real and will not spontaneously heal.

Forgiveness requires movement toward the tattered relationship and a willingness to take off the temporary dressing and expose the wound again.

Forgiveness is at the heart of our partnerships if they are to deepen. Pray, ponder, and move closer to the one who seeks healing – release – from untreated missteps and misspeaking. It means your release too.

Check out this video on the importance of forgiveness in relationships both for yourself and for your significant other.

Resolution 4– End things on a good note

Endings are probably more important than the beginnings.

When facing discouragement, fatigue, and mounting frustration, it is important to finish strong and finish well.

After all, negativity is never diffused with more negativity. Too often, we let pessimism and insidious rip currents embitter us and siphon the joy from the soul.

When this happens, we want to kick, bark, wave our fingers at our “perceived foes,” and walk away from it all. What do we leave behind after the messy departure? Unfinished business. The call to love the neighbor. Our dignity. In a rough spot? Pray. Listen.

One of the promises to make to your boyfriend or girlfriend is to take care of your responsibilities.

Related Reading: Why Is Accepting Responsibilities in a Relationship Important?

Resolution 5– Walk in your neighbor’s shoes

Do you ever walk in your neighbor’s shoes? Do you find it easy or challenging to process and then affirm a neighbor’s viewpoint? I am convinced that we face an empathy shortage in our homes, communities, and partnerships.

Empathy does not mean agreement. It implies understanding.

Are you able to disagree with a partner while still finding a way to affirm that the partner’s contributions were valued and appreciated? 

Unfortunately, we often allow our need to be “right” trump our responsibility to hear the other voices at the stable. Community collapses when it becomes unsafe to share opinions, concerns, and alternative visions. Walk in someone else’s shoes!

Resolution 6– Speak the common language of love

We find a hearty assortment of languages and cultures in the world. Although this implicit scattering of peoples poses significant communicative challenges at times, we do encounter some common ground if we attune our hearts and ears to the stories our neighbors seek to share with us.

I suspect our common language is love. Love that hopes all things believes all things and endures all things. In loving our neighbors and our partners to the best of our abilities– all language barriers are overcome.

Spreading and embracing love should make it to your list of New Year’s resolutions for couples.

Related Reading: What Are The 5 Love Languages? Everything You Need to Know

Resolution 7– Pack light

What do we tend to overpack? Well, in addition to heaps of “stuff” we do not need, we carry too much worry, bitterness, jealousy, and the like reflecting our sense of vulnerability, our fear of losing control. It hurts our souls and our relationships. “Packing light” is an instruction built on trust.

By leaving some things behind and letting some things go, we make space for the currents of love to shift our direction and enrich our journey. So as New Year’s resolutions for couples, remember to pack light and let go of resentment and unresolved conflicts.

Related Reading: 16 New Year’s Resolutions to Improve Your Sex Life

Resolution 8– Let go of anxiety

Anxiety is paralyzing. Shaped by earlier, unsavory experiences with loss and disappointment, we sometimes look to the future with cynic’s eyes. Could it happen again? Will I make that same mistake a second time? 

Our relationships and hearts are damaged by all the anxiety.

What should we do when the worries of the past and present begin to diminish our hope for the future?

As one of the New Year’s resolutions for couples, let’s acknowledge that life does not always proceed as planned and that’s OKAY!

Second, let’s work on TRUST, recognizing that our loved ones are right next to us even when we fail miserably.

Related Reading: 7 Hacks to Get Rid of Anxiety

Resolution 9– Hope beyond the missteps

We will stumble. Often. Our missteps and “misspoken words” can be painful at times, rendering us discouraged, alienated, and anxious, perhaps ready to step away from the job, project, or relationship for good. 

Do you have the vision to see beyond the slump, though? Passionate about our potential for success, joy, and deepened relationship, declare to yourself and your lover, “We’ll walk beyond this valley.

Resolution 10- Adopt each other’s hobbies

One of the best new year’s resolution ideas for couples is to focus a bit more on each other. 

This can be made easier by adopting each other’s hobbies. Once you both begin to engage with each other by way of activities and hobbies, this will not only be a great and refreshing new year start but eventually benefit the relationship.

Resolution 11- Have financial meetings

Money is one of the most common issues amongst couples that acts as a reason for divorce. Apparently, each person has their own money behavior as well. So, it is crucial to understand the financial aspects deeply.

Money talks are less made in the relationship. So, for a financially smooth relationship, schedule finance meetings with your spouse. 

Related Reading: How to Handle Finances Together and Improve Relationship

Resolution 12- Listen more

Active listening is a very important aspect of the relationship. When it comes to effective communication, listening forms as important a part as talking. Listening is often neglected and not consciously taken into consideration.

As a part of the new year’s resolution ideas for couples, practice the art of listening. Once you consciously begin to take up the skill in your relationship, you will find better understanding and more happiness in your relationship. 

Resolution 13- Join a gym together

There’s nothing like planning to stay fit together. Hitting a gym together will help you both stay motivated and you both are likely to not hit a snooze button on the days of laziness. 

For a more solid plan, it’s better to go for membership together or opt for an instructor-directed gym plan.

Resolution 14- Be grateful for each other

One of the biggest relationship practices is to be grateful for each other. 

Gratitude goes a long way in making both the partners feel important and valued in the relationship. So, as one of the new year’s resolution ideas for couples, plan on thanking your partner and showing your gratitude for them every day.

Resolution 15- Help each other grow

A relationship is most fruitful when partners help each other grow and reach closer to their personal dreams. If you both don’t evolve with time, the relationship will face an extreme rut. 

So, as a resolution, work on helping each other achieve the goals.

Related Reading: 8 Ways to Show Appreciation to the Love of Your Life

Resolution 16- Set long-term relationship goals

Relationship goals are important to keep your relationship on the right track. It gives something to the couples to look forward to. You can set many relationship goals like buying a property, having a baby, reaching the desired body weight, and so forth.

As a part of your New year’s resolution ideas for couples, set specific goals that you would like to reach in a certain number of years or months.

Related Reading: Long Term Relationship Goals – Is This Still Possible?

Resolution 17- Remain positive

It is important to infuse happy vibes into the relationship. 

A relationship is something that you both build together and belongs to you two solely. So, ensure that it remains positive at all times. You both can do so by keeping the expectations in check and remaining flexible with each other.

Sharing positivity will bring more happiness into the relationship as well as your individual lives.

Resolution 18- Cook together 

Whether or not you love cooking, cooking together will create an all-new different experience as its advantages go beyond just nutritional rewards. 

Cooking together serves many benefits. And once you take this up as the new year’s resolution ideas for couples, you would understand that over a period of time, it will lead to positive memory association and enhance your teamwork as a couple.

Related Reading: How to Be a Team Player to Your Spouse

Not just this, it will also help build communication.

Resolution 19- Spice up your love life

Making your love life more juicy should be next on your list of couple resolutions.

It is normal for couples to reach a state of boredom with their love life. This New Year, adopt some tips to make things more interesting in the bedroom. Schedule your romantic activities and allow each other to share fantasies to create some heat between the sheets.

Related Reading: 15 Things A Woman Can Do to Spice Up the Bedroom

Resolution 20- Avoid digital distractions

In this age of technology, it is easy to get distracted by social media. So, when you both spend quality time together, ensure to avoid any digital interference as sticking to your phone will lead to spousal negligence. Keep your quality time untouched by any form of distractions. 

Instead, resolve to unplug and create more opportunities for intimacy, communication, and love.

Resolution 21- Read together

It can be very convenient to slip into the habit of social media scrolling and spend time on things bearing no fruit. You both should decide on keeping away the phones and picking up a book instead. 

Reading at least a few pages together daily will lead to effective communication and also make you both more enlightened.

Resolution 22- Make social presence together

Make time to catch up with your friends and family together. Grow your network. By resolving to attend social events together, you will not only project the strength of your relationship but will also get to meet new people that will keep your bond fresh and active.

Not just this, it will also boost your mood and bring satisfaction to your life and that of your partner.

Resolution 23- Travel often

One of the most important New year’s resolution ideas for couples is to make frequent travel plans. 

Explore the hills and beaches to enhance your romance. And once you schedule your travel plans based on your resolution, you will be happy to see the transformation it will bring to your relationship.

Related Reading: 10 Opportunities for Relationship Growth

Resolution 24- Do volunteer work

It is a great idea to volunteer for organizations involved in some concerns that you both closely feel for. 

Whether it’s working in an animal rescue facility or contributing to an old-age home, your resolution as a couple for such services will help countless needy people and infuse more kindness into your relationship.

Resolution 25- Fulfill an item from each other’s bucket list

It is certain that both of you must be having your personal bucket list. 

Resolve to help each other check at least one item off the bucket list. And at the end of the year, when you both look back at the year and see how you both contributed to each other’s happiness, it will only add more positivity to your relationship.

Resolution 26- End the night by saying Thank You

As a new year resolution, end every night by saying Thank You to your partner for at least one thing they did during the day. By doing this every night, you both will be able to focus on the positives of your partner.

This means that even on bad days in the relationship, you will have something to be thankful for in your relationship and you won’t lose hope.

Related Reading: Not Feeling Grateful? Here’s Some Useful Relationship Advice

Resolution 27- Start a habit of kissing or hugging before setting off for work

One of the sweetest habits to adopt is to kiss your hug your partner before going to work. Make your partner feel valued. Once you set this as a resolution, it will help you both follow this as a routine and will help in keeping the love growing.

Resolution 28- Spend time alone

For a relationship to be healthy and balanced, it is important to give yourself time apart from spending time with your partner. 

This helps you to maintain your individuality in the relationship and nurture it. As a new year resolution, ensure that you use the 70/30 rule where you spend 30% alone time and 70% time with your partner. Take time to recharge so that you can invest in your relationship.

Resolution 29- Say ‘I Love You’ more often

As the years go by, couples forget to express their love for each other. So, resolve to say ‘I love you’ to each other more often. You can start the day with the phrase as soon as you wake up or surprise your partner with a text when you both are apart.

Resolution 30- Take after-dinner walks

After-dinner walks are one of the precious times where you can have heartfelt discussions as the day closes. This is one time to bond well and talk about everything that is in your heart. Not to forget, this is also a very healthy habit.

So, as the year starts, take long walks together and cultivate communication and vulnerability. 

Related Reading: 20 Ways to Improve Communication in a Relationship

Takeaway

Final thoughts on New Year’s resolutions for couples.

My advice on couple’s new year’s resolutions is to spend some quality time with your partner and neighbors. The goals for the new year should be to enjoy refreshment, curiosity and bring openness to conversations and relationships. 

In all that you do, be willing to widen the circle. Well, there you have it, the New year’s resolution list that should offer you renewed peace and insight. Practice these ones often and let the healing begin. Best wishes as you step into a New Year together.