This is (or will become) a collection of information, links, apps, etc. that I find interesting or helpful…
Couples
Gottman Card App. Do you enjoy talking with your partner? How well do you know your him or her? Want a playful way to spend a little quality time together? I found this app which was developed by the Gottman Institute . It includes questions that you can ask each other about your past, present, and future, about the ways that you connect, about sex, and more.
36 Questions. These 36 questions provide another opportunity to connect with your partner. Beginning with comfortable questions that ask you to imagine things, the questions eventually become more intimate, such as sharing old memories or feelings.
Date Night. Many people get married because they enjoyed the process of dating one another, and yet once married stop going on dates and making time for each other. This site includes ideas to get you thinking about fun things that you could be doing with your partner. Feeling nervous about setting something up because your partner might not enjoy it? Ask him or her to think of three date ideas, then pick one and make the plans! You’ll feel more comfortable setting it up because you wont feel nervous that you’ve chosen something that he or she doesn’t enjoy and your partner will enjoy it because it was his or her idea.
Individual
Career Quiz. What do you want to do for a career? Sometimes we get caught in a rut of thinking too narrowly about career options. It can help to take a variety of quizzes to provide you with new ideas for a future career; this is one that I like. Once you have found several ideas, head over to O*Net where you can research the skills, requirements, and expected salary of pretty much any job you can imagine.
Schema Questionnaire. This questionnaire is based on Jeffery Young’s Schema Therapy; basically as children we see patterns in the interactions that we have and the expectations present in our personal world, and develop ways of seeing the world that might or might not be beneficial. Taking this assessment will help you to identify areas of your life that it would benefit you to focus in on and work toward improvement. I recommend the book Reinventing Your Life as a resource to guide you through understanding the schemas and how to change them.
Value Sort. It can be beneficial to know what you value in order to orient toward a more meaningful life. Using a value sort helps one to narrow down and focus in on what really matters. Once we know what we value it is helpful to filter our decisions through those values. For example: If I value Autonomy (freedom to make one’s own decisions) then it is natural that I will make decisions to benefit myself and feel irritation when others attempt to decide for me. But if I truly value autonomy, then I will also acknowledge that others must also be allowed this right, otherwise I’m simply self-centered and possibly narcissistic. If I actually value Autonomy, then I must choose not to control others or insist that they do things my way. — What do you value? Are you living into your values or away from them? Did you find yourself with a list of things that you “should” value rather than those values which are truly meaningful to you? Create your list of values and then consider journaling ways in which you are successful in following those values and ways in which you could improve.