{"id":219,"date":"2014-09-09T18:31:47","date_gmt":"2014-09-09T18:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.flpremaritalcourse.com\/?p=219"},"modified":"2014-10-13T14:31:46","modified_gmt":"2014-10-13T14:31:46","slug":"courtesy-ideas-for-couples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.flpremaritalcourse.com\/courtesy-ideas-for-couples\/","title":{"rendered":"National Courtesy Month: 4 Ideas for Couples"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bigstock-Mid-age-couple-having-coffee-a-23188262\"<\/p>\n

September is National Courtesy Month!<\/h2>\n

In celebration, we\u2019re challenging each other at the office and our readers to come up with and use new ideas to increase courteous attitudes and behaviors towards loved ones.\u00a0Let\u2019s start with the basics.<\/p>\n

What is courtesy?<\/strong> A quick online search pulls up definitions that include ways of thinking, feeling and acting, which express politeness, civility, and respect. Here are some ideas to get you started\u2026<\/p>\n

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  1. Instead of demanding<\/strong> that your partner do you a favor (\u201cGet me \u2026\u201d) or assuming that your partner will do your \u201cusual\u201d favor for you (such as making you coffee, or fetching you something you asked for)\u2026 politely ask for the favor including the word \u201cplease\u201d and also be sure to include a heart-felt \u201cthank you so much\u201d after you have been the lucky recipient of the favor being done for you. Stop thinking of these usual favors as entitlements. Remember that the other person is actually choosing to do you a favor- so be polite in your requests and be purposefully appreciative.<\/li>\n
  2. When you\u2019ve asked for or received<\/strong> a spontaneous favor from your loved one, challenge yourself to come up with an idea to reciprocate by doing some nice favor for your loved one during the next few hours. That way you can help make them feel well cared for and appreciated by you too in the same day. If they haven\u2019t asked you for any favor, ask them if they\u2019d like this or that until something strikes their fancy and do that for them. These little things count and they add up over time.<\/li>\n
  3. Think of things you are doing that are the opposites<\/strong> of being polite and change your ways to being the more polite version of you. Convince yourself that you can do this for a week, and before you know it, you\u2019ve done it for a month. A year? Get courtesy to start snowballing in your household! Here are some examples to get your ideas flowing.\n