After spending years working with couples, individuals, or people who
have been through a breakup or divorce, it seems that there are problems
that keep coming up over and over again.
Wouldn’t it be good to know where to really concentrate our efforts, to give marriage the best chance possible?
Below are 6 marriage mistakes that can easily lead to divorce:
1. Talking with friends about the rotten thing you think your husband did to you.
Research
suggests that friends are often more upset when they think their bestie
is being mistreated than when they are experiencing the same treatment
themselves. Besides, most of us don’t really understand how our
conditioning and wiring as women, and our husband’s conditioning and
wiring as a man differ. So conversations about men with women friends
often lead to husband bashing that helps nobody. Resolution: Limit
talking about upsets or problems to two people: For example a trusted
friend, coach or therapist.
2. Thinking That Talking About Problems With Your Husband Is The Answer.
All
too often women think that talking to our husbands is the way to make
them see how their behavior has been affecting us. If the behavior
doesn’t change when we first bring it up, we want to talk more, longer,
or louder because we think maybe they didn’t get it the first time. One
of the highest pet peeves for men is that feeling of being nagged or
badgered, especially if they don’t know what is really the matter. The
other problem is that the rules of polite, kind, nice conversation that
we try to follow as women, often come off as indirect, manipulative, and
mysterious to men. Women will then often conclude that their husband
doesn’t care because he hasn’t changed. Resolution: Learn communication
skills specifically to talk with men, and spend more time DOING fun
activities.
3. Thinking That Your Happiness DEPENDS On Your Husband Changing.
Research has shown that happiness does indeed increase when your
husband changes, yet that change originates with YOU. Paradoxically, the
women who focused on becoming more of the person they would like to be,
rather than focusing on how their husband had to change, were happier
down the road. Resolution: Focus on being the best you.
4. Living Parallel Lives.
Living
parallel lives is the slippery slope to disconnection. The bonds of
marriage thrive on interest in each other, enjoyment of each other’s
company, working toward common goals, and spending time together.
Couples who are trying to reconnect after children have left home often
come to realize that they don’t know each other anymore. Resolution:
Take the time to know what is important to your husband, and allow him
to know what is important to you.
5. Focusing On What’s Wrong.
One
of the most difficult scenarios I come across is seeing couples where
one or both people are stuck viewing each other through a negative lens,
and expecting the worst. Our brains do a wonderful job of seeing what
we expect to see, and we are much more likely to view our husband as
doing everything wrong when we have developed a negative view of him. A
relationship coach can help regain a balanced view. Resolution: Balance
your concerns with a positive view. A relationship thrives when we see
our partner through rose-colored glasses.
6. I deserve.
These
words need to be banned from your vocabulary. The mentality that goes
along with using these words includes a form of entitlement that kills
the softness that is needed for a couple to cherish each other. The
words include a demand that your husband do what you want him to. This
is very different from knowing internally that you are worth more, and
having the communication skills necessary to ask for more. Knowing what
you are worth helps you inspire your husband to cherish you. Resolution:
Focus on knowing your own worth. Get clear about what is important to
you in a relationship, and learn how to ask for it.
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