Dejections

June 15th, 2008

Marriage - Miscommunication: Root Cause of Problems?

People of two opposing ideas can stir up arguments and fights. It’s that situation when one thinks he has the right concept while the other one also believes he has the proper notion. Both of them would try to outsmart each other until one claims victory.

Here’s an actual example.

My spouse would sometimes buy me signature clothing. When my Mom founds out how much it costs, she would advise us to budget our money and just buy the affordable ones.

A problem occurs when my spouse thinks that her effort to give me the best was unappreciated. Mom, on the other hand, would think that my spouse is such a spender.

There’s a conflict with their beliefs. No two people are exactly alike. We are totally unique; not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.

There will be many times when your opinion will not correspond with that of another. So how can people prevent this kind of conflict from occurring?

Communication is the key to overcome doubts and misunderstandings.

You should let other people know what’s in your mind. Don’t keep them guessing.

There was a story about two couples who were filing a divorce. After the lawyer have spoken to them both, he found out that the root cause of all their problems was due to miscommunication.

Here’s one of the couple’s problems.

The man filing the divorce said that he just hated the breakfast meal that his wife often prepared for him. On the other hand, the wife said that she’s only preparing the meal because she thought it was her husband’s favorite. But she never liked cooking it because it’s very difficult to prepare.

See? If only one of them took the initiative to speak out what’s in his or her mind, then that particular dilemma would be over.

Now why would people prefer to keep their complaints and criticisms to themselves? What’s holding them back?

It’s because they do not want to be rejected. Most, people, if not all, would like to be accepted and to be perceived as likeable in the eyes of others.

So can you get your message across without hurting their feelings?

Substitute negative statements with positive ones.

Instead of saying “You don’t understand,” say “Let me explain.” Instead of remarking “You’re wrong,” say “Permit me to clarify.” Instead of stating “You failed to say,” just mention “Perhaps this was not stated.”

There are certain words that affect a person more negatively in comparison with other words that have the same meaning.

Nothing could be more pleasing to the ear than hearing someone else say that you are right. In this case, be prepared to let other people know that you respect their opinions. You may add your comments at the end, but acknowledge them first.

Say:

You’re right, although … Great suggestion, however … I agree with your opinion, however … I would feel the same way if I were you, although … I understand your situation, however …

Reassure your counterparts that the decision made will benefit both parties. People need to feel that they have made the right choice.

Communication is a gift. Use it wisely for everyone’s advantage.

Author: Mickal Kerenterff. For more information, please visit my website at http://www.SuccessfulMarriageSecretsRevealed.com where you can grab a free e-course about Successful Marriage Secrets. You will Discover How Mary & John Easily Transformed Their Miserable and Lifeless Marriage Relationship into One Filled With LOVE, Happiness, and Excitement!

May 27th, 2008

Dealing With Your Spouse’s Sexual Past

“Couples who’ve had sex before marriage will inevitably have sexual difficulties in marriage.”

That’s what Joe Beam, marriage expert and president of Family Dynamics Institute, said to a large audience of married couples. Through Family Dynamics Institute’s work with thousands of couples, we’ve learned that the emotional results of premarital sex, in most cases, negatively affect many aspects of a marriage.

More than half of those who marry today bring sexual histories into their marriages, and it seems to me that wringing our hands over the issue isn’t going to help those struggling with the consequences in their relationships today.

So what can be done about marriage difficulties that result from premarital sex? I have some suggestions that have helped others who’ve approached me about the issue.

1. Confess. It’s good for the soul, they say. It’s also good for your marriage. If he doesn’t know you had sex with someone before you married him, he probably needs to know. He especially needs to know if it is responsible for struggles in the bedroom. He can’t fight an enemy he doesn’t even know exists and if you want true intimacy with him then you need to share everything about yourself.

Your spouse will probably be hurt by the news. I didn’t say it would be easy, but if you want to overcome the guilt and intimacy issues that often come with having a sexual past, you have to eliminate secrets (except of course, what you’re getting him or her for Valentine’s day). By that I don’t mean you flood your spouse with all the details of your past encounters. Usually telling the basics will suffice, but tell as much as he or she wants to know. That way he knows you aren’t keeping secrets from him, and so do you.

An intimate marriage with no secrets can overcome most of life’s obstacles. So the first step to overcoming a sexual past is to strengthen your relationship by bringing your past out in the open. Obviously, this is a two-way street.

2. Differentiate. Sometimes each spouse enters marriage with a sexual past. Even if you are guilty of having a sexual past, it’s hard to fight the feeling of betrayal if you discover your spouse also committed sexual sins before marriage.

The reason it hurts to learn of the sexual past of our spouse is due to something I believe God put inside each one of us–the desire for privileged rights with another person. We want to share the most personal parts of ourselves with another person and to experience the same from that person. We want to share something with our spouse that is different and separate from any experience he or she has ever had with anyone else.

When we learn that another person has experienced the deepest, most hidden parts of our spouse we feel cheated. We feel as though we’ve been robbed of something that should only belong to us. We actually feel violated by sharing our spouse with another person, even if it happened a long time ago.

Therefore, it is essential that we are able to reclaim that privileged right to our spouse. We’ve got to have something together that no one else has (or can have) with him or her.

Think and pray long and hard on this: Determine why you chose your spouse over anyone else. Determine what makes your marriage special and unique. Find something that the two of you can cling to as sacred and shared only by the two of you. Use that as a focal point and a continual source of security when you or your spouse experience the guilt, regret, or pain that results from your sexual pasts.

3. Pay attention to the link between your sex life and your emotional health. Many times your sex life reflects the overall health of your relationship. If you have feelings of comfort and happiness at the thought of sex with your spouse, usually your relationship is in good shape. But when you have negative thoughts about sex with your spouse, with the exception of periodic physical complications, many times it means that you and your spouse are emotionally distant.

When your relationship is in good shape, sex should be a natural result. It’s the outcome of a good relationship where each spouse feels secure, appreciated, understood and loved. And, after a certain level of emotional health is reached, sex makes vital contributions to the emotional health of a marriage. Make sure you understand the importance of your sexual and emotional relationship with your spouse and act accordingly.

Though this formula is not a quick fix, it is the quickest fix known to me. Other couples have used this strategy and it has worked. I’m convinced it will work for you as well.

© 2005 Lee Wilson. All Rights Reserved.

Lee Wilson is on staff at Family Dynamics Institute. Family Dynamics attempts to prevent marriage problems by helping couples who are already in troubled marriages and by teaching those in good marriages to prevent major issues before they happen. Lee combats marriage problems from another angle with his web site for Christian singles by helping them find compatibility in possible marriage candidates. Lee hopes his efforts will help to decrease the divorce rate around the world.

May 14th, 2008

Happy Relationships: Change Your Appearance

One of the challenges of even the strongest long-term
relationship is the difficulty in keeping things fresh and new.
We are creatures of habit, developing routines that work for us
without our having to think about it. It allows us to move
through fast-paced lives without having to make every little
decision on a daily basis. We don’t want to stop and think about
which sock to put on first, which way to drive to work, what
kind of gas to put in our car, how to stack the dishwasher or
fold our clothes.

Habits make life so much more simple that it frees up our
energies to confront the big decisions and problems we have to
face. However, habits also distance us from what we do because
our mind is not engaged, When someone else points out that we
“always” do something a certain way, we are amazed because we
are unaware. Once we’ve moved beyond the adolescent and young
adult experimentation phase, we tend to fall into the rut of
wearing our hair a certain way, how we put on our makeup, the
kind of television shows we watch, the choice of foods we eat,
and the lifestyle we pursue.

That is why the sneaky marketing men aim their message at young
age groups who are the ones most likely to try something
different. The size and the purchasing power of the baby boomers
may be extraordinarily large but they are seldom targeted by
major advertising campaigns because they are comfortable with
the choices they have made and are unlikely to really hear
messages about alternatives in which they have little interest.

Within our lasting relationships, we also fall into habits. They
range from unwavering go-to-bed-at-night and
get-up-in-the-morning routines to the day of the week we go out,
the restaurants we frequent, and the way we communicate (or fail
to communicate) with each other. We are so used to being around
our partner that, despite the affection we may feel, we stop
seeing each other with the wonder and appreciation we felt in
those first heady months.

Shaking up our lives by dumping old habits can make us feel
younger and alive. Changing our appearance, even a few times a
month, makes us look at each other through new eyes and makes us
focus on each other in a different way.

Women can more easily and radically change their looks because
female hairstyles are so much more varied than those of men. A
wig (or several), in a totally different color, with appropriate
makeup adjustments, can affect your response to each other. A
man can temporarily grow a moustache, a beard, or sideburns, and
elicit new attention from his surprised wife. An outrageous new
piece of clothing for a special date can transform your
interaction with each other.

Many of us love costume parties whether something dramatic at
Halloween or an only-black-and-white graphics event or a get
together with friends wearing the clothes we loved in high
school.

Be creative! If you usually dine out in business attire, get
some cowboy gear and go to a western saloon for some line
dancing. If your usual night out is at a bowling alley, dress to
the nines and have a drink at the most expensive hotel in your
area, rubbing shoulders with the movers and shakers. Try a
latino nightclub, hot dogs on the pier, or drinks with fruit and
little umbrellas at a sushi bar. Dress in your skuzziest clothes
and visit a luxury car showroom to laugh at the consternation
you cause. Use that tux you rented for your niece’s wedding when
you visit the local pizza parlor and see the buzz you create.

The city of Las Vegas has a wonderful ad campaign about “What
happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” It speaks to our desire to do
something totally different and outrageous to escape the
paralyzing pastry of our normalcy - but with the assurance that
we can return without ill effects, no burned bridges forcing
permanent change.

Shaking up our appearance can shake up our partner and our
mutual interactions. Do it for the excitement and do it for the
fun. As another ad campaign suggests, “Just do it.”

April 16th, 2008

Pay Close Attention To The Lyrics Of Your Wedding Songs

Everyone has favorite music for weddings. Outside of the typical wedding march, all other songs are chosen by the couple for their nuptials. The music enhances the mood of the wedding, so you want it to be a perfect match.

Some couples make the mistake of choosing a song because the singer is one of their favorites and it seems mellow enough. Then once they stop and listen, they realize that on their wedding day, they’re playing a song about heartbreak. Talk about mismatch.

A modern favorite for the father and daughter dance is the song Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlisle. It is a beautiful song about a father and how he feels as he recalls watching his daughter grow up. Each night she would give him little kisses before she’d nod off to sleep. The song says: “With all that I’ve done wrong, I must have done something right to deserve her love every morning and butterfly kisses at night.”

The song Unforgettable by Natalie Cole and her father, Nat King Cole, is a favorite for the first dance. Isn’t it so true for the newlyweds? You married the person who was most unforgettable to you. Best of all, as the Coles sing it: “That’s why darling, it’s incredible that someone so unforgettable thinks that I am unforgettable too.” How’s that for a romantic touch?

Looking for a great song to end your party with? Try the song by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes called I’ve Had the Time of My Life. It’s a beautiful song taken from a wonderful movie. It starts slow but builds up to a great rhythmic beat that will get your guests up on the dance floor. Plus they leave your party singing: “I’ve had the time of my life and I’ve never felt this way before and I swear it’s so true and I owe it all to you.”

Lesley-Ann Graham runs WeddingTrix.com - a valuable wedding planning resource with articles, tips and advice to help you plan your perfect wedding. Visit Lesley-Ann’s wedding blog for more free wedding planning help and advice.

April 14th, 2008

The Crimes We Commit Against Our Marriages

Are you guilty of one or more of these “crimes” in your
marriage? The crime of indifference, parallel living, failure to
communicate or killing passion are crimes we often commit in our
marriage.

All is not lost, with a little effort and changes in thinking;
you won’t be spending time in the “Crimes Against Marriage”
prison. Read on and you’ll be paroled from your prison sentence
in no time at all.

The Crime of Indifference

As we become busier each day with the needs of our children, our
employer, our community, it’s easy to put the needs of our
spouse on the back burner. After all, they know we love
them…right?

By not keeping the needs of our spouse on the front burner, it
breeds a feeling of indifference and lack of caring.

How do you overcome the indifference routine that you’ve fallen
into? By daily acts of kindness, letting your spouse know you
are thinking of them throughout the day.

Never leave the house without a deep and passionate kiss for
your sweetheart…give them a little passion to remember you by
for the rest of the day. With the advent of e-mail, it’s
extremely easy to take 30 seconds to send a note of caring,
sensitivity and even enticement.

Also set aside time to have a weekly date night so your
relationship can continue to grow.

The Crime of Parallel Living

What is parallel living? Parallel living is a husband and wife
co-existing in the same house, but rarely interacting with each
other. Although this is part of the indifference problem, it
goes a step further where you live almost two separate lives in
lines that are parallel and rarely cross each other’s paths.

You are roommates who are polite to one another, but far from
passionate and only see each other in passing.

This crime is a little more difficult to overcome because it
usually includes schedules that make it difficult to interact.
To overcome this “crime” there will be a need for both to
sacrifice some of the activities they engage in that keep them
in a parallel life.

This may include reducing the number of extracurricular
activities of the children…in reality do they really need to
be playing on various sports leagues year round, taking dance,
gymnastics, karate, piano and a whole myriad of other activities
to “enrich’ their childhood?

What a lot of kids need is some time to play, climb trees, and
be kids. Many families are stretched to breaking points in
activities for their children and never have time to be a family
or husband and wife.

In reality, it’s very easy to have each child choose one or two
activities they want to participate in a year. You might be
surprised how eager they are to reduce their schedule as well.

The tougher things to streamline will be the activities that you
and your spouse participate in each week.

There are many noble and important causes to lend our talents,
skills and efforts toward. However, life is a marathon and we
need to pace ourselves to get to the end, so it’s important to
say no to a few of the causes, and focus on just one at a time.

As you evolve through each season of life, your focus may move
from PTA to Mothers Against Drunk Driving to Meals on Wheels.
Remember, if you are the President of the PTA, it’s difficult to
also be the Team Mom, Cub Scout Den Leader, be on an adult
softball league and ever hope to see your spouse.

As you and your spouse strive to streamline a bit, you might
find some activities that you could do together that would steer
your lives back to the same lane rather than parallel living.

As you streamline your life, there is more time to rediscover
your spouse and spend time with them.

The Crime of Failure To Communicate

Have you ever had a discussion with your spouse and when you are
done, they have a confused look on their face like you we
speaking some foreign language?

Sometimes it’s due to the fact that we are doing some other
activity as we are talking to them and aren’t focusing on
communicating well.

Other times we have been so heavily involved in what we’re
talking about, that we leave out key elements of information as
we are explaining the situation to our spouse. It’s like talking
in shorthand, and they don’t know the code.

Anytime you are communicating with anyone, but especially with
those you love, it’s important to take the time and effort to
focus on your discussion.

This tells them that they are important enough to you that you
will set aside other distractions, and that you want them to
understand the message you are trying to convey.

The Crime of Killing Passion

Nancy J. Wasson, Ph.D., is co-author of “Keep Your Marriage:
What to Do When Your Spouse Says “I don’t love you anymore!” has
written a wonderful tongue in cheek article that helps bring
this into perspective.

You’ll find it on our web site in our Department under “Sex”.
The article is titled, “Twelve Ways to Make Your Spouse Dislike
Sex”. You’ll glean some interesting insights as you read this
article.

All kidding aside, we need to avoid the behaviors that will
bring passion in our marriage to a screeching halt.

There are times when you may not be in a romantic mood, but that
doesn’t mean you can’t show passion to your spouse.

Whether it’s a passionate good-bye kiss or a tender touch, this
conveys your love and passion for your spouse and doesn’t
necessarily mean you will be jumping into bed with them in the
next 30 minutes.

Passion is defined as a strong feeling or emotion. For us to
have strong feelings or emotions about our spouse, they need to
be the focus of our life…our life’s passion.

We know their thoughts, feelings, successes, failures, fears and
joys. The interesting thing about passion is we feel what they
feel if they are our passion. As we allow passion to live in our
marriage, our daily interactions as well as our intimate moments
will be more full and alive.

As we strive to avoid committing these 5 crimes against our
marriage, we will find greater joy and happiness in not only our
marriage, but in all of our life endeavors.

April 3rd, 2008

The Art Of Love Messages

Love, the very word brings forth feelings of warmth. Love, a relationship, which makes us whole. A companion with whom we share all our emotions, our life, our thoughts, our body, our everything. That is love and lucky are those who fall in love.

During the initial phase of love, there is a tremendous passion and a desire to keep on sharing everything. Keep on telling about how one loves their beloved in so many different ways. In this phase, lovers speak of flowers, stars, moon, and so many other objects that one can find to define love.

All of us have our own style of sending love messages. Some write their own poems. Some send small notes. Some send very long letters and some search for poems that can reflect their emotions. Searching for gifts, and sending messages, meeting, enjoying life together, and so many other such activities mark the initial phase of love. Love is indeed mysterious because you will find poems being written by those about whom you had never suspected this. Your most ordinary looking practical gardener will develop dreamy eyes and start sending love notes after falling in love! PG Wodehouse wrote about this in most of his stories with great fun and understanding.

The best part of love messages arrives after many years. Show a lover what he/she did many years ago and they will themselves not believe that they wrote all that gibberish. That is love.

CDMohatta writes on love and romance and also other topics for eCards. Currently he is writing content for http://www.cupidecards,com/, http://www.ecarduniverse.com, and http://www.screene.com