Romantic Ideas for Valentine's Day
Romantic Ideas are almost easy to come up with when you simply do this one thing that almost no one does in their relationship...
What most of us do--whether we realize it our not--is to give a gift that we would like rather than what the person who is to receive our gift would like. One of our friends arranged a lovely weekend at a "castle" hotel in a nearby city for her husband as a surprise. The package she bought included massages for each of them and of course, chocolates and champagne.
While all of this might sound really luscious to a lot of us, her husband thought it was a nice gesture but not his style. The woman's daughter even told her that the weekend plans sounded like they were for her rather than what her dad would have liked.
While we certainly think weekend retreats are wonderful, we also recognize that when you are planning your special gift that you invoke the Platinum Rule.
According to Dr. Tony Alessandra, the Platinum Rule says, "Treat others the way they want to be treated."
Dr. Alessandra explains that "the goal of The Platinum Rule is personal chemistry and productive relationships. You do not have to change your personality. You do not have to roll over and submit to others. You simply have to understand what drives people and recognize your options for dealing with them."
In other words, we are all different and honoring those differences creates great relationships! We've certainly learned this in our own lives together, as well as watching this dynamic in the lives of our coaching clients.
So what does all of this have to do with creating romantic ideas for Valentine's Day?
Everything!
Otto once worked with a woman who was so disappointed when she received flowers from her husband at home and not at work. It might sound like this woman is unappreciative of her husband's efforts and there of course, is probably some degree of truth to that but there's also the idea that he didn't love and honor her the way she wanted to be honored. She wanted his flowers to be a public display of their love. He wanted the flowers to be a private display of their love. Neither are right or wrong. It's simply a difference in way a person wants love.
So our romantic idea for you is to pay attention to what your beloved would like and how they would like it. You have a few days before Valentine's Day so do some research.
Here are some questions to get your research started...
1. Become the observer. Ask yourself--What can I learn about new about my beloved? There's always something new to learn if we are open to seeing it. We might think that we know everything about our mate but we suggest that you look at him or her with new eyes.
2. Does your beloved like surprises or hate them? Believe it our not, some people like surprises and others don't like them because they don't like to be disappointed if they don't get exactly what they want.
3. How would your beloved like to see your love in action? Something tangible like flowers or chocolate or something like a romantic evening alone together? Maybe a bubble bath together or creating a soft "nest" for the two of you to snuggle into. Maybe an evening on the town, going out to dinner and then to a play or movie. Resist the temptation to plan something that would be the way you would like it.
4. Now obviously you both can't plan a big outing for each other on the same day. If you are planning something big and special, tell your beloved and if he/she doesn't like surprises, tell them what you are thinking of planning. You might combine what you each would like to do and your celebration of your love certainly doesn't have to be on that one day--Valentine's Day.
In fact, we suggest that in order to keep your love alive, vibrant and growing, you find ways to celebrate your love and each other often. Take turns in pleasing each other and you'll find that your love grows deeper.
For more romantic ideas, visit http://www.relationshipgold.com/Romance/index.htm
