Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Recipe for relationships

Came across the following on relationships. Reflecting back on my experiences with people, I see the truth in the following researched conclusions by a bunch of psychologists. (source: http://thesnapper.com/2009/09/30/happiness-misery-and-relationships/)

Recipe for relationships:

(1) Love maps - getting to know your partner very well.

(a) Invest in understanding - One has to be attune, or emotionally dialed in, listening and remembering every aspect of their partner.
(b) nurture fondness and admiration. Both partners should be fond of the other’s traits, abilities, and accomplishments, admiring them as good things.
(c) triangulation. When the going gets tough, turn toward each other instead of away from each other.
(d) let your partner influence you. Do what your partner tells you to do.
(e) solving the solvable conflicts. Out of all the conflicts a relationship endures, one-third (33 percent) is solvable while two-thirds (67 percent) are unresolvable, also known as perpetual. It is commonly seen in strong well-functioning relationships.

(2) the “Four Horsemen of the Marital Apocalypse,” or what makes relationships miserable, ultimately ending them.

(a)criticism, attacking the spouse personally about their work and the like.
(b) contempt, becoming aloof from the spouse and demanding superiority.
(c) defensiveness, which prevents the spouse from having a word in matters or allowing them a voice of opinion.
(d) stonewalling, as the name states, building an invisible, and metaphorical stone wall between each other that keeps situations unsettled.

1 comment:

Harini Sridharan said...

very true!