Do you appreciate the little things?
One of the greatest mistakes we make is failing to acknowledge the little things about our partner.
There are so many things my wife does on any given day that don’t get acknowledged. What about your partner?
If your partner gets a work promotion, you would congratulate them.
If your partner cleaned the entire house top to bottom, you would probably thank them.
What about the little things? Sometimes we notice them, and sometimes we don’t.
Do you actually notice those little, less tangible things?
See, those are the things that actually matter. It’s expected that we congratulate someone for a major accomplishment, but what about the daily little things?
My wife comes out every day to my office and brings me lunch. I know it’s because she enjoys our time together, and I love it too. But I know she doesn’t have to. So I thank her.
She thanks me for simply going to work. Seriously, it’s kind of just part of my habit of working to bring in money to live on, but she shows her appreciation that I do that.
- What other things don’t we notice in our lives?
- Just off the top of my head, I can come up with a few things:
- I have clean clothes because my wife does most of the wash.
- We eat on clean plates because we both do dishes.
- The kids leave things around, and my wife coordinates the cleaning.
- She walks the dogs that the kids promised “Oh, we’ll walk them every day.”
- And the list goes on.
The little things are the ones that can truly matter
This makes sense if you think about it. Little things matter. Why? We are somewhat expected to notice a new hairstyle, or when someone dresses up, or completes something big. “Oh honey, that’s great!” Yes, it is.
But if you want to really hit it home, pay attention to the little things.
This benefits you as well as your partner.
Why?
Well, it helps you, because I bet if you watched and noticed, you would see all the little things that make your world better, thanks to your partner. Your favorite side dish with your meal. Your socks actually have matches. The lawn doesn’t look like a tornado hit it. All these little things you likely both do for one another add up.
For your partner, simply having their partner say “Thank you” for those little mundane things tells them that you notice. It says, “I don’t take you for granted.” And it’s a variation on saying “I love you.”
It really does translate to “I love you”
Do you truly love your partner? I’m betting you do. But here’s the little trick. We get caught up over time in the day to day pieces of our lives that we lose sight of the little things. And those little things get stale over time. Why? Because they are just small actions that seldom receive any praise. Maybe your partner says they don’t need any praise for them. That’s what makes it even more special.
You noticed. With everything going on, including screaming kids, barking dogs, work issues, messes, and all these little things that happen, you noticed. And that tells your partner that you love them.
