Tag Archives: No-Big-Deal Conflict

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How to Make Up When Your Spouse is Still Upset

How to Get Things Back Without Making Them Worse

Have you ever tried to apologize, but ended up in a much bigger fight? You wanted to say you were sorry, but then you said something that really set your partner off?

How to apologize to your spouse

Admitting when you’re wrong is hard. Knowing when, and especially how, to apologize earns you appreciation and respect. On the other hand, doing it wrong consistently makes you look like a jerk. It builds resentment, and soon, your partner will probably start behaving the same way. Therefore, this post is not about preventing you from messing things up, but what you can do about it afterwards.

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How to Negotiate With Your Spouse For a Win-Win

Conflict Resolution that Connects Instead of Dividing

It’s often said that marriage is about sacrifice and compromise. That doesn’t sound so great, does it? The reality is, though, that in much of your marriage, you will be in constant agreement to do something, one way or another, with more than a large gray area in between.

How to Negotiate With Your Spouse for a Win-Win

This can be anything from picking where to go out for dinner, to where you will go on vacation this year, and similar things. Or it can mean more serious decisions, like moving across the country because your partner got a promotion, and now you have to leave your friends and family behind. Agreeing to do something, when done properly, can enhance a feeling of connection and harmony, while the opposite leads to frustration, anger, depression, and all sorts of really toxic behaviors.

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3 Steps to Preventing a Meltdown During Conflict

What to do When Emotions Run Hot

Imagine you want to talk with your spouse in the middle of a tornado. Debris is flying around, you are shouting, your spouse is shouting, the wind is roaring. You can’t hear each other. Nice setting to have a talk, right?

How to stop making fights worse

Now, imagine you decide to get out of the way of the tornado. You simply wait for it to pass. Then, you invite your spouse to sit with you on the porch, have a drink, and talk. Which way would you prefer? I mean, if you’re not an obsessive adrenaline junkie, the answer is clear. This post is about how to avoid getting to a point when all you hear is roaring and things get really nasty. That’s when feelings get hurt.

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How to Receive Complaints and Criticism Gracefully

Proven Way to Handle Negative Feedback From Your Spouse

Say you bought something in a store and it doesn’t work. You call the company’s customer support. Whether you are right or wrong, two scenarios can unfold.

How to deal with criticism

In the first scenario the customer support representative goes into defence mode. Without even knowing the details, they start implying it’s your fault, making you feel like an idiot. In the process, they’re making you angrier by the second. In fact, they are making you feel sorry you bought their product in the first place.

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How to Calmly Resolve Any Disagreement

5 Easy Steps to Staying Connected During an Argument

Do you have disagreements with your spouse? If you do, congratulations! That means your relationship is alive and kicking. All happy couples have conflicts. If you didn’t have any, I’d be worried for you. That’s because when you don’t care enough to disagree, your relationship may just as well be dead.

Marriage Conflict Resolution

In this post you’re going to learn how to express disagreement in a structured and non-threatening way. If you can handle complaints (and even criticism) without feeling attacked, you can turn any disagreement into a connecting exercise that only makes your relationship stronger.

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How to Start a Difficult Conversation

How to Express Negative Feelings Without Harming Your Relationship

Imagine you’re a small business owner. A difficult issue comes up and it involves one of your most valuable customers. You know each other for years and they’ve been there in the good times and the bad times.

5 Tips for Starting a Conversation that You’re Dreading

But something has come up and you need to have a sincere talk with them. So you pick up the phone. Then what?

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The Best Way to Get What You Want in Your Marriage and Beyond

And a Little Known Phenomenon That Gets in a Way

Have you ever been on a diet? Has it ever happened that while you were going toward the fridge, you were telling yourself, “I shouldn’t eat that cake, I really shouldn’t.”

Get What You Want Without Complaining

Then your hand somehow got into the fridge. You actually saw it going in there! You grabbed the plate with the cake, took it out, and ate it. What happened?

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6 Ways Your Subconscious is Affecting Your Marriage Right Now

#1 Reason Why Your Spouse May Not Be Listening to You

Do you sometimes you wish your spouse would just listen? But they don’t. They won’t. What’s wrong with them? Why can’t they understand what you’re saying?

Why is Your Spouse not Listening to you

No, you’re not speaking Martian. Your spouse hears what you’re saying just fine. But they don’t listen. In this post you’re going to learn 6 surprising facts about the particular part of your brain that literally prevents them from listening to you.

Specifically, we’re going to talk about a tiny, almond-shaped part of your brain. It’s extremely powerful and it can literally save your life! Uncontrolled though, it can leave deep scars in your relationship, and your marriage. For life.

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How to Disagree Without Inviting Resentment

A Little Word With Big Consequences

Have you ever met someone who just seemed to end your every thought with “but?” It starts to get annoying, right? It feels like nothing you say is valid, because they know better.

How to disagree with your spouse

It seems that in our society every other sentence contains the word ‘but’. The other person says something, and we soon follow with a big ‘but.’ Beware, though. ‘But’ is a little word with big consequences.