Have you ever been in a relationship with someone who has to be right all the time? It can be so frustrating. Even when there is evidence that they are wrong, they won’t openly say, “oh, I was wrong”, they …
Tag: healthy relationship
Ways to Build Trust in Your Relationship
Trust is the foundation of any relationship. It is difficult to be truly vulnerable with someone you don’t trust. Trust isn’t built overnight; it takes time. In a relationship, many small moments added together become the building blocks of trust. …
One Tip That Will Change the Way You Argue
There is a difference being attacking someone’s CHARACTER and attacking their BEHAVIOUR. When we are critical of someone’s character it is much more personal attack. When we attack a behaviour, there is more of a sense that the behaviour can …
How to Shift a Criticism into a Complaint for More Effective Communication
If you grew up with a lot of criticism around you, as an adult it is likely that you have a loud critical voice in your head. Usually that critical voice is directed inwards, but in intimate relationships, many people …
How to Escape the Toxic Criticism and Defensiveness Cycle
When someone comes at you with criticism, the natural response is to defend. Criticism is a form of attack, so it is natural to protect instinctively unless you know how criticism and defensiveness play out in a relationship. Those of …
Questions for You During the ‘Differences’ Stage of Relationship
This is the phase where we step back from the intense merging of the honeymoon phase, we take off the rose-tinted glasses and ask ourselves if we can live with the reality of the other person. It is easy to …
Using the Five Love Languages on Valentine’s Day
We all feel love in different ways. It might be that you could spend hours and hours together, but if you were not touched, you would feel completely unloved. Or it might be that you could be hugged and kissed …
How Can I Let My Partner Know I Love and Value Them?
All relationships need nurturing. I like to think of relationships like plants. If we leave a plant in sandy soil, give it too much sun and not enough water, it will quickly die. No two plants are the same. One …
Know Your Partner’s World: Building ‘Love Maps’
This is about knowing your partner’s world. It is difficult to really love someone that you don’t know. You might read this list and think, of course I know these things about my partner. That is great. But know that …
The Secret to Relationship Success: A Strong Friendship
When there is a strong friendship, repairs in the relationship work better. In the Gottman’s book “The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work” (1999), they talk about the importance of repairs. In any relationship, we have to expect to have …