Archives for things

Being Thankful: How It Creates Happiness

During difficult times, it’s easy to lose sight of the positive aspects of our lives and focus solely on what’s going wrong.  This can be because what’s going wrong is right in our face, demanding our attention.  There is, however, a great deal to be gained from paying attention to what is good in our lives, especially during more difficult times.

Focusing on the things we are thankful for is important since the things we pay attention to grow in importance.  When we spend time thinking about what we are grateful for, we’ll notice these things appearing more frequently in our lives.  Noticing things that make you happy will automatically increase your feelings of pleasure and appreciation. Read More

Light up Your Partner’s Holiday With A Gift That’s Just Right

You know it’s coming soon: an important holiday and you need to buy your partner a gift.  But what to buy? You have NO IDEA.  You’re wondering what it is they’d like, you’re trying to guess, and as the date gets closer, the stress is setting in.  You want to get him/her just the right thing, but you don’t know what that is!

You CAN light up your partner’s holiday with a gift that’s just right.  It starts with an Imago teaching that says each person has his or her unique way of seeing the world.  Therefore, one person cannot claim to know how the other sees the world until the other person communicates it to him/her.  What does this have to do with gift giving?  More than you think! Read More

Different From Your Partner? How This Can Be A Strength Rather Than A Problem

Do you sometimes wish your partner acted, thought, or did things more like you?  Instead of being frustrated by your differences, it would be a better use of your time and energy to acknowledge your partner’s strengths and find ways they can benefit your relationship.

Everyone has areas of natural talent and areas where they are weaker.  However, our society mistakenly emphasizes that we need to excel in most areas, be “well-rounded” or – at the very least – competent at most things.  But since humans are meant to be in relationships with others, we really don’t have to be good at everything, or even good at most things.  As humans, we’ve always lived in communities.  We are interdependent: connected with and relying on one another.  Instead of trying so hard to be good at everything, we should focus on using our own strengths in conjunction with our partner’s. Read More

Wow! My spouse can be just like my mother/father! How did that happen?

Have you ever been going about your daily life, when suddenly something your spouse says or does is so reminiscent of what your mother or father once said or did, you can hardly believe it?  It can be quite surprising – and sometimes unsettling – to see certain traits of your parents in your spouse!

The positive traits are understandable.  It makes sense that we would choose to be with someone who has some of the same positive characteristics of our parents.  On the other hand, the negative traits can be disturbing. Read More

Giving Thanks, Gaining Happiness

Grateful children giving their father a kiss

Is everything going wrong?  Are you feeling frustrated, stuck, unhappy, or overwhelmed?  It’s easy to get bogged down and feeling bad when it seems like nothing is going your way.  During these difficult times, we often lose sight of what’s good in our lives and focus solely on what’s wrong.  It’s easy to lose perspective when the things that aren’t going well are right in our face, demanding our attention.  We forget about all the things that are good, allowing them to fade into the background and take a backseat to our powerful negative feelings.  There is, however, a great deal to be gained from paying attention to what is good in our lives, especially during more difficult times. Read More