Relationships

What Scares You in Relationships?

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scared couple in movie theater

Some of us barrel into relationships as if the very fact of being alone could cause severe itching.

Others are skittish, shying away from promising new people or finding ways to engage while subtly keep them at a distance. Ultimately, the skittishness takes a toll (barreling into relationships can wreak havoc too, but that’s for another post).

I’m a strong believer that most of the trouble in relationships is caused by fear: Fear of not being loved, of being taken for granted or taken advantage of, of being “found out” as not worth someone’s time, and the list goes on.

Do Toxic People Even Exist?

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Whenever I hear the term “toxic person,” I picture a glow-in-the-dark green zombie covered in radioactive waste.

Personally, I consider this to be the proper definition of a toxic person. I don’t think too many people agree with me, though.

There are tons of blog posts out there, not to mention comments on Facebook and other social media, urging us to purge so-called toxic people from our lives.

Someone talks trash to you? Kick ’em to the curb. Read More

Why Our Relationships Hold the Key to Personal Growth

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Bride and groom walking away on the roadThis week I’ve got an article I really want to share with you because it gets right to the heart of one of the most important truths about our relationships.

We tend to be attracted to partners who help us recreate the same troublesome dynamics we were hurt by earlier in life.

For example, a woman marries a man with an addictive and unpredictable personality, just like her mother.

Or a man marries an emotionally unavailable woman who unconsciously reminds him of the stoic grandparents who raised him. Read More

7 Ways to Spring Clean Your Relationships

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Now that spring is here, I thought I’d offer a few tips for some “relationship spring cleaning.”

Try these with your partner, friends, family, or even coworkers.

1. Listen more. Even if the other person already does most of the talking, how carefully do you typically listen? Challenge yourself to tune in to what they’re saying, rather than letting your mind wander.

2. Make time. The word “relationship” may be a noun, but “relate” is a verb. Read More