By Lisa D. Daniels More often than not the best way to find something you’ve lost is to retrace your steps and that is exactly what happened to me. Since I could remember, I was would shy away from speaking up for myself—whether in confrontation or just to assert my desires. I have needed to have a difficult conversation with a friend very near and dear to my heart for a … [Read more...]
Communication
3 Reasons Why Arguing With Your Spouse Can Be a Good Thing
Some people hear the word "argument" and immediately think of a nasty fight. I don’t. I think an argument is merely a difference in opinion. Sure, it can get pretty nasty if people decide to take it there, but it doesn’t need to. If you keep your anger and frustration in check, an argument is just a healthy exchange that happens from time to time. I don’t argue with my … [Read more...]
Don’t Talk About It, Be About It: Are You a Couple Who Lack Accountability to Each Other?
One of the greatest things about being single is that you are accountable to no one (in terms of romantic relationships). The problem arises when married people sometimes still believe they are accountable to no one. My last few coaching clients have complained of the same thing: Their spouse's lack of accountability. Once you are married, you are accountable to someone … [Read more...]
Fight Fair: 4 Ways to Stop Trolling in Your Relationship
Did you know that according to relationship expert John Gottman, "96 percent of the time, you can predict the outcome of a conversation based on the first three minutes of the interaction?" In other words, if you begin a conversation with someone in a harsh, disrespectful or negative tone, it's highly likely it's not going to end well. We see this all the time in online … [Read more...]
10 Comments That Needs to Be Eliminated from Your Marriage Right Now!
Words are powerful, and sometimes we say things we don't mean. Is it okay? No, but we're human and it happens. However, there are certain comments that should never be said in a marriage. Here are 10. "I want a divorce." Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." (Mark 10:9) If you're married, you already know at some point your marriage will become … [Read more...]
3 Keys to Influencing Your Wife without Being a Controlling, Manipulative Jerk
I wanted to have a Super Bowl party this year but my wife wasn’t feeling it. I knew that before I even brought it up, but I wanted to have one anyway. I could’ve been like, “Why can’t I have a Super Bowl party with my friends? I pay the mortgage up in here, too!” That would have been brute and would’ve been too controlling and resulted in a much bigger problem in the near … [Read more...]
YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH! 3 Very REAL Reasons Your Man Might Be Lying to You!
“Why won’t you just tell me the truth?” “Baby, you know you can tell me the truth…” “I can handle the truth…” Most men have heard those statements before. And because they often sound so earnest and so convincing, many men have gone down that scary road of telling the truth just to find out that it leads into a trap. Ladies, you love to say these things to try to get … [Read more...]
When You Think You’ve Tried Everything…32 More Actions to Improve Your Marriage
I'm going to get straight to point. If you and your partner are having difficulty communicating, then you owe it to yourself and your marriage to try everything you can to improve the situation. I know it gets hard and frustrating sometimes....like you're beating your head up against a brick wall. But your marriage is worth fighting for. And when it seems like you've tried … [Read more...]
3 Keys to Talking to Your Spouse that Won’t End in a Fight
One of our biggest challenges in marriage is lack of communication. I would take it a step farther to say that it’s not always lack of communication, but the fact we are communicating differently. What is important to one spouse is not important to the other. Often, when we are trying to talk to each other about problems or difficulties, if we don’t find the same things … [Read more...]
Arguing with Your Spouse: 3 Reasons Why It’s Good to Get It Off Your Chest!
Arguing with your spouse can be good for your health??? Come again! Now, if you are anything like me, or should I say the old me, then ladies, we know, judging strictly by feelings, arguing with your husband is good for your health if you win and bad for your health if you lost. The winner has a sense of accomplishment and feels great about the “victory." The person who … [Read more...]
Bad Communication: 5 Reasons Your Spouse Doesn’t Listen to You
I love talking to people. Frankly, I can be a chatterbox. My husband knew what he was signing up for, so he’s rolled with it, even though he’s a lot quieter than I am. I suppose we balance each other out. My son is quite the chatterbox as well, and my husband always laughs and looks at me when my son won’t stop talking. The apple doesn’t fall too far. With my love for … [Read more...]
3 Things You Should Never Ever Do in an Argument with Your Mate
The best marriages and relationships are going to have arguments and disagreements. Many times, the arguments take on a life of their own because we get frustrated to the point that we hit below the belt. We have to remember that ultimately we are in each other’s corner and, although this is an argument, we don’t want to say things that are hurtful or scathing which affect … [Read more...]
Decoding the Female Language: Here’s What She’s Really Saying!
Women are not complicated. In fact, we are quite simple. Despite being fairly easy to please, we wrestle with how to communicate our needs. Often, our desperate pleas to have our wants satisfied can send us into an unstable frenzy. Our need for closeness and intimacy is mistaken for clinginess. Craving compliments is often interpreted as insecurity, and our fears are seen as … [Read more...]
Why Are Some Men More Caring, Considerate, and Patient with Complete Strangers than with the One They Love
Interesting observation: men have a tendency to be more considerate to a complete (female) stranger than their own mate. I’m not making this up. It’s what several dating and married men admitted to me after completing one of my Relationship Bootcamps. See-what-had-happened-was…I took 40 male and females…whose relationship statues ranged from single, to dating, engage, and … [Read more...]
7 Characteristics of Couples that Can Talk about Anything
When I started my life and relationship coach training 10 years ago, one of the greatest lessons we learned was how to communicate. We were taught active listening, how to pay attention to body language and to be aware of what wasn’t being said. I walked away knowing quite a few things. One being, people want confirmation they've been heard, but won't always come right out and … [Read more...]