One “problem” is that we are designed to desire novelty. There comes a time when it feels like you have heard every one of your mate’s stories at least once and can anticipate what he or she will say next. The amorous boost provided by novelty is called the “Coolidge effect”.

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Humans don’t have to change partners to increase romantic interest. Other novelties will do. In relationship experiments, couples that made a point of doing things that were new and unfamiliar had a much higher satisfaction measure than the couples who spent time doing familiar things.

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Stepping out of a normal routine, finding novelty, being open to serendipity, enjoying the unexpected, embracing a little risk, and finding pleasure in the heightened vividness of life. These are all qualities of a state of play.

Stuart Brown M.D., Play

My ex used to call me a magpie, associating me with the avian’s interest in “shiny new things” and I used to think its just a unique trait of mine (as a Enneagram Type 7) that I got bored and restless easily – usually a disastrous trait for sustained relationships.

Thankfully, I figured how to inject newness into relationships with new activities, or even just new projects for myself so that there was sufficient novelty in my day to day life.

Looks like this overall need for novelty is more general than I thought. =)