How To Fight In Marriage: Start Well – End Well

Communication, Relationship Design, Simplicity

How do you fight? You will fall into one of three categories. Conflict avoiders – We never fight. I never once heard a cross word between my mom and dad. Volatile – Like cats and dogs. We fight all the time, over anything and everything. But we love to...

Want A Better Marriage? Let's Start The Bidding

Communication, Relationship Design

This post is by Simple Marriage contributor Mary Ann Crossno. What happened between you and your spouse in the first ten minutes of your day today? Did you turn toward your partner, away from your partner or against your partner? Bids are the glue that keeps us...

Expectations equal unhappiness

Simplicity

Whatever you focus on, grows. So how much time and energy do you spend focused on your expectations? A good working definition of expectations is planned disappointment. And expectations are directly correlated with happiness, or more aptly, unhappiness. When what we...

5 Steps To A Genuine Apology

Communication

Editor’s Note: Originally posted February 9, 2009. The words “I’m sorry, I apologize, and Forgive me” are so easily said that they’ve lost their meaning. Ever get an apology that left you wondering whether or not the person apologizing...

What are Your Holiday Expectations?

Family and Kids, Relationship Design, Simplicity

Editor’s Note: This post is by Simple Marriage contributor Mary Ann Crossno. You’ve made it through Thanksgiving. How did your day of thanks stack up to your expectations [definition: planned disappointment]? Now you have 24 days until Christmas and 31 days until the...