Reading Corner

Links related to the weekly posts.

 

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In this week’s blog we looked at the importance of respect in your relationship. Many people think this is even more important than communication. Here are some articles on this topic.

The Importance Of Tone “Several weeks ago, I was editing together some video footage for a home movie and was surprised to discover how irritated, negative, and just plain mean I sounded when talking to my wife. I remember most of the interactions that were filmed but not any of the feelings I was quite clearly projecting.”

Relationships and the Importance of Respect “Relationship advice is everywhere and you often hear that the key is communicate – communicate – communicate… You will hear the importance of making clear agreements, having good boundaries and of course the importance of love. Respect however is often mentioned in passing and yet respect is paramount in successful happy relationships, romantic or otherwise.”

Why Is Respect Important In a Relationship? “Love and respect can never be separated in a relationship, especially in a romantic one. It is true that we can respect someone and not really love him, but we can never love anyone without also respecting them.”

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This week, our blog was about avoiding misunderstandings in your relationships. Here are some different perspectives on how to do that.

How to Avoid Misunderstandings with Your Partner “A solid relationship requires avoiding misunderstandings with your partner. Actively listen to your partner and think carefully about what they have to say. Once you’ve decided how you feel about what your partner said, talk to them and express your feelings. Always be open and honest with your partner. If necessary, seek the help of a professional relationship counselor to help you and your partner avoid misunderstandings.”

10 Common Causes of Misunderstanding and How to Solve Them “The process of navigating a relationship requires patience, love, and understanding. There are moments when issues will arise, which takes these three factors to solve and get both parties on track. One of the factors that can keep a relationship in disarray is a misunderstanding. Usually, misunderstanding is portrayed by having little or no clarity about something. Misunderstanding is the result of an assumption with no proof. And it would continue to cause conflict in a relationship until things become more transparent. In this piece, we will be looking at how to deal with misunderstandings in relationships and identify the common causes.”

5 Effective Steps to Handle a Misunderstanding With Anybody “When a misunderstanding occurs, who caused the problem? The answer is, everyone involved in the conversation. If you have something to say, it’s up to you to ensure that the person you are delivering your message to have understood what you’ve said. You’d do this by asking a few questions to check that they duplicated your intended message. At the same time, if you’re being spoken to it’s up to you to ensure that you understand what’s been said. If anything is said that you’re not 100% certain you understand, it’s crucial that you ask questions to clarify.”

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This week, we concluded our 5-part series by describing how to deal with decisions and disagreements in your relationship. Here are some writers who offer varying opinions on this issue.

How To Make Happier Joint Decisions With Your Partner (In 5 Easy Steps) “It’s time to reframe joint decision-making not as a negotiation or a compromise but, instead, as a whole new collaborated idea. Instead, you need to think of joint decisions as a triangle. Think of yourself and your partner as each being at one of the points at the base of the triangle, and your joint solution is actually the third point at the top of the triangle. Neither of you knows what this might be yet because you have to discuss options and ideas to get there. It’s an unknown quantity at first, and you’re working together to figure out what it is.”

The Art of Solving Relationship Problems “Unsettled problems are a major source of stress, stress that can not only undermine your relationship, but your diabetes management as well. Research has shown that successful relationships are not those that necessarily have fewer problems, but those that have found effective means of solving the problems that come up. Here is a 6-step process for tackling and solving those problems in your relationships.”

Learning to Make Joint Decisions “Learning to make joint decisions is an important part of any long-term romantic relationship. While decisions start small, with tonight’s supper, they get bigger, through the colour of the bathroom to whether to have children, how to manage childcare, and whether to move abroad to support one partner’s career, for example. Developing a reliable basis for decision-making and discussion will provide a good foundation for a long-lasting relationship.”

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This week, we continued our 5-part series with how to create peace instead of conflict in your relationships. Here are some writers discussing the issue of acceptance in relationships.

Creating a Resilient Relationship Through Acceptance ” Both self-acceptance and acceptance of our partner are connected; after all, how can we accept our partner and all their quirks if we can’t even accept our own? There are times when couples treat each other with such contempt, acting like enemies. In the midst of all this chaos, they forget they’re still on the same side of trying to create a harmonious life together. Couples get stuck in their pattern of hurting each other to the point that it creates such distance between them.”

5 Ways to Heal Your Relationship Through Acceptance “Working on accepting the many differences in your partner can be an emotionally beneficial exercise for both you and your partner. The practice of acceptance emancipates you from the stress and unhappiness of your futile efforts to change your partner. Once you relinquish trying to change or control your partner and accept your differences, not only will you feel relief, but your relationship will feel more peaceful and harmonious. Naturally, the concept of acceptance can be hard to come to terms with. For some people, it means giving up, complete inaction and/or enabling your partner’s differing choices, characteristics and behaviors. Yet, acceptance doesn’t have to be characterized that way. You can choose to define acceptance as a willingness to tolerate and even see the good in those behaviors you cannot change.”

The Power of Accepting your Relationship “It is often said that happiness comes from accepting our relationship. And most might agree that acceptance is necessary in relationships, BUT, the real question is: how do we get to that place of deepened acceptance in our relationship? This is a challenging topic. For some, acceptance may be a process over time while for others it may come a bit easier. Here are my thoughts on this challenging topic!”

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This week, we wrote about how to deal with differences in your relationships. Here are some articles on the topic of dealing with differences.

How To Navigate Your Differences in a Relationship “It’s not unusual to meet someone, fall for them and then begin to learn that there are certain topics of conversation that always end in a disagreement. After all, we’re all individuals, we can be similar in some ways while being different in others. Compatibility for life and a strong relationship doesn’t mean we need to think about or do everything in the same way. Instead, it means we complement each other, generally work well as a team, enjoy being together and more often than not our two halves are better than the whole.”

Relationship Tips: How to Handle Differences for a Successful Relationship “In a Wall Street Journal article, columnist Elizabeth Bernstein writes about the challenge of marriage between an ardent planner and a partner who prefers to be spontaneous. Perhaps you’ve known people in a marriage like that—or maybe you’re one of them! In my work with couples, I have heard many a planner call their spouse passive-aggressive or the spontaneous one refer to their spouse as a control freak.”

How to Navigate Differences in Your Relationship “But how do you know if a difference is more than something to seek counsel about, but is indeed a deal breaker? Because, the fact is, some are. Deal breakers are those differences that you anticipate will have a consistently divisive impact on your relationship. The two most important words in that sentence being “consistently divisive.” It’s impossible to grow together as a couple if your relationship lacks a foundation of unity.”

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