892: Countdown to Connection
“Where you are a year from now is a reflection of the choices you make today.” —Anonymous
What if this New Year’s Eve, instead of just watching the ball drop, you and your spouse had a special countdown to connection?
As the year ends, it’s natural to reflect on what happened, what went well, and what didn’t. Why not be intentional about this in your marriage and do a countdown through The 6 Pillars of Intimacy®?
In this episode, we share our own personal countdown and encourage you to do the same. Take the quiz to find your strongest pillar, talk about what was good this year, and connect over what you’ve overcome together.
We’re sharing our reflections as examples, but make this your own! Grab your spouse, go through each pillar, and talk about your wins, challenges, and what you want to carry into the new year.
Here’s a glimpse of what this looked like for us:
Sexual Intimacy: Some of our big wins included following The Intimacy Lifestyle most of the year, navigating perimenopause together, and learning to communicate spontaneous desire more openly.
In our Recreational Intimacy, we enjoyed boating, travel, and exploring new cities. This year, we tended to be better at prioritizing recreational intimacy when it was big experiences rather than small, everyday ones. We also navigated having two young adult children at home.
Honestly, Spiritual Intimacy looked different this year than many other years. We were able to connect with new people at church and join a small group, but at times, prayer or reading devotionals felt robotic rather than authentic.
For Financial Intimacy, this was a strong year: not extraordinary, but still great. We bought a home, had important financial conversations (life insurance, retirement), and stayed financially afloat during a season of transition.
When it comes to Physical Intimacy? This pillar improved for us as the year progressed. In fact, we learned to prioritize touch even more with the kids still around.
Finally, we strengthened our Emotional Intimacy this year by working through intense conversations as a team. Even though negative moments tend to stick with us more than positive ones, we have continued to pour time, effort, and energy into keeping this pillar strong.
Now it’s your turn!
Start your countdown from a place of strength. Take The 6 Pillars Quiz to find your strongest pillar, then do your own countdown with your spouse.
What went well? What challenged you? And what will you carry into the new year?
Resources
Free Intimacy Lifestyle Planner
The 6 Pillars of Intimacy® Quiz
Connect with Us
Join the ONE Family private Facebook group to share your story and connect with other couples who are creating extraordinary marriages. To reach us on the Hug Hotline, call or text 858-876-5663 or email hugs@oneextraordinarymarriage.com.
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