Better Together: Apologize - The Sooner The Better.
Welcome to Better Together. The only newsletter focused on showing you how amazing your marriage can be, and not afraid to tell you what it really takes to get there. Each week we give you a brief glimpse into our lives and three potentially life-changing ideas to help you become a better partner. We hope that you will find this newsletter inspirational and practical.
We believe that “close relationships, more than money or fame, are what keep people happy throughout their lives.” [1] We believe that by strengthening marriages, and families, we can improve the world at large.
We hope you will help us share this vision. Please consider sharing this newsletter with others via: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, or email.
1. the Grant Study, a 75-year-long Harvard research project on human development
From Our Lives
This week Kelli let me down. It was something of minimal importance, in fact I can’t even remember what went wrong. The point is that I remember feeling hurt and disappointed.
But what I remember even more is that instead of deciding that it was no big deal. Or that I was a grown man and should just suck it up. Kelli came over, pinched my butt, and snuggled up to me.
She owned up to the mistake and we made up. This is how a close relationship is built.
Repairing wrongs. Saying sorry. Taking ownership. Validating each other’s concerns and opinions. Consistently doing these things is how trust is built.
Apologizing isn’t an easy skill. It takes work.
But hard work is a sacrifice we are willing to make in order to build a relationship that lasts.
What We Have Been Reading
“So in taking good care of yourself, you take good care of your beloved one. Self-love is the foundation for your capacity to love the other person. If you don’t take good care of yourself, if you are not happy, if you are not peaceful, you cannot make the other person happy. You cannot help the other person; you cannot love. Your capacity for loving another person depends entirely on your capacity for loving yourself, for taking care of yourself.”
— “Anger” by Thich Hanh
“Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.”
— “Essentialism” by Greg Mckeown
“Say what you mean and mean what you say. Your word is important, so it is important to match actions with words… It is extremely easy to promise the world because you care for the person. But you do MORE damage when you make promises that you can not keep. This is not to say that you are not allowed to change your mind about something. Just be sure to communicate this to your partner. Saying what you mean and meaning what you say allows your partner to know they can trust your words.”
Call To Action
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Now, go give your spouse a hug and tell them you love them!
Written and published by Nathan & Kelli.
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