1. Your One Chance at A Second Chance...Is It Possible
2. Food for Thought: What Time Is It For You
3. Does Your Relationship or Marriage Needs Rescuing
4. Knock 3 Times On The Pipes If You Can HEAR Me
5. Marriage Problems and Your Kids
6. How to Change Your Marital Situation In the Best Possible Way
7. How to Say I"M SORRY
8. How Do You Know If You Married The Right Person
9. If Your In A Bad Relationship - Self Help Techniques May Not Work
10.Are You Studying Relationship Psychology to Understand Your Relationship
11.How to Heal An Ordeal In A Trouble Marriage
12.How Can You Heal Old Wounds In Your Marriage
13.Are You Being Taken For Granted or Unapreciated In Your Relationship
14.Giving Your Spouse An Ultimatum - Does It Work
15.How to Get Your Spouse to Change
Copyright 2010 by Terry Clark. All Rights Reserve. No part of this ebook may be reproduce in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the author. Your One Chance at A Second Chance...Is It Possible
I'd like to share with you one of the building blocks for restoring a marriage.Everyone has a reputation. We don't get to pick, but everyone is known for something. It seems that I'm known for helping people repair broken marriages or girlfriend/boyfriend relationship issues. And in particular, you could say that my specialty is helping people "win back" their spouse who claims to have fallen out of love. If that's your situation, you'll want to listen
carefully. And even if it's not, you can learn a lot about how to reconcile your marriage from what I'm about to share.
When a person learns that their husband or wife doesn't love them anymore, they go crazy trying to find a fix for their problem. The same is true for couples trying to resolve differences before
it's too late. Many people go online and search for THE answer.
(That's probably how you found me.) But finding a solution to your marriage problems is NOT like finding a solution to your home financing problem. You can't just click, buy, and get
instant gratification.
You know how a harvest works, don't you? In the spring time you have to plant. Then you have to water, fertilize, and irrigate all summer long. There's something else you have to do too...wait! You have to be patient. And then, after you complete every step of the process, you can harvest the crop.
We're not used to revering a process. Most people look for short-cuts. Today everything is about efficiency. Efficiency works with machines, business, and finances. But efficiency does NOT work with relationships.
Renewing a marriage takes TIME. There are no short-cuts! You have to respect the process and be willing to take every step. (And you have to know what the steps are.)- Can you imagine goofing-off all spring and summer and then trying to harvest a crop in the fall? It's impossible!...
Relationships, like crops, are governed by the natural laws of the universe. If you skip a step, you'll short-circuit the process and slow yourself down. But if you take your time and go
step-by-step...that' the fastest way. Let me give an example:
A close friend of mine bother marriage was falling apart fast, he was desperately trying to "win back" his wife. He told me about an e-book he downloaded which recommended that he date other women in order to make his wife jealous. He said the author explained that this would bring his wife back to him.
"Yeah," I said. "And then what?"
"Your wife left you because she wasn't happy with YOU," I explained. "If YOU don't change, then she'll leave again. If your relationship doesn't change, then you will have accomplished nothing LONG-TERM."
Think about it. What kind of man would date a woman to make his wife jealous? The woman he's dating is looking for emotional intimacy and probably to get married. But he's using her.
That's not nice! In fact, that's exactly the kind of man that a woman would leave and NEVER come back to.
Here's the answer. Listen carefully.
His wife would know because if he did it, then that's who he is. His wife may not know the details of what he's doing. But she knows him. And if he did such a thing, then that's him, and
everyone knows it.
-William George Jordan said: "Into the hands of every individual is given a marvelous power for good or evil...the silent, unconscious, unseen influence of his life. This is simply the constant radiation of what man really is, not
what he pretends to be."There IS an energy that emanates from all of us...You can't fake it. It's a function of who you really are. And who you really are is determined by how you live. The only way YOU can change your marriage is to change yourself. You've got to become the man or woman that anyone would want to be married to.
You have to learn what a man/woman wants in a marriage AND how to implement relationship habits so that you can offer it CONSISTENTLY.
It's easy to confess your spouse's sins. And you're probably correct about what you're spouse needs to change. But it does no
good to be right. And it's a complete waste of time and energy to focus on your spouse's problems. There's nothing you can do about it. The only relevant question is: What's YOUR fixing?
You had a role in the deterioration of your marriage. I have NEVER seen a marital situation that is caused by one spouse. There's always dual responsibility. What can YOU do to improve the situation?
Reflect on your past relationships. Do you see a pattern? Look at your parent's marriage. Are you recreating the model you saw when you were a child? Have you explored the childhood roots of
your relationship habits and how they contributed to your marital circumstances?
Even if your spouse had an affair, you're partly responsible. That doesn't mean that it's your fault and it doesn't excuse your spouse's inappropriate behavior, but the question still remains: What was your spouse seeking outside your marriage that was not available within it?
Business people selling e-books (or other such product and services) might be able to take advantage of desperate men and woman searching for a fast solution to their problems. But these
quick-fix techniques NEVER work. In fact, they make matters worse! Why? Because you only get one chance at a second chance. Did you hear that,You only get one chance at a second chance. Don't blow your chance on a quick-fix technique. Begin now the REAL process of renewing your marriage and start to put into
place the building blocks for a healthy LASTING marriage.
Many people think the goal of life is to be happy. I don't think so!
Have you ever been to a funeral? That's not a time to be happy. It's a time to be sad. Did you ever take the SAT's, the MCAT's, or any other important entrance test? That's not a time to be happy. It's a time for intensity!
Have you ever waited for test results from a medical exam? That's not a time to be happy. It's a time to worry!Have you ever encountered a lot of turbulence on an airplane? That's not a time to be happy. It's a time to be scared!
-The goal of life is NOT to be happy. The goal of life is to know what time it is... In the words of King Solomon:
"Everything has its season. And there is a time for everything under the heaven.""A time to be born and a time to die." "A time to weep and time to laugh." "A time to wail and time to dance." "A time to rend and time to mend." "A time to be silent and a time to speak." "A time to love and a time to hate." "A time for war and a time for peace."
What time is it for you? If you're reading this, then maybe it's time to renew your marriage. It can be a difficult and painful process, but maybe that's what time it is for
you.
Are you wondering if you need a relationship rescue service? Are there warning signs that not all is well in your love life? Perhaps your partner is being evasive or non attentive? Perhaps they are busier than normal and not available to go on dates if you are not yet married or come home early if you are? When you are with them, do you get the feeling they would rather be anywhere else?
Before you panic there could be a million reasons why your partner has gone a little cold on you. He or she could be worried about their job, money or a health issue. They could have a friend going through a rough patch and be trying to help them. It doesn't mean, necessarily, that they don't love you.
In my blog, How to Save Your Relationship or Marriage From Catastrophe I talk about being able to communicate properly. This is one area that can be improved in almost all relationships. Did you know that most couples break up not because of infidelity but because of a lack of communication. They simply can't or won't talk to one another.
The problem is that if you do not chat openly about your concerns or worries about your relationship, seeds of doubt are grown and suddenly these seeds become huge bushes. While they were seeds, they would have been relatively easy to work out but now they have grown out of proportion, they become a lot more difficult to deal with.
If you suspect there is an issue in your partnership you need to deal with it as soon as possible. Ask your partner to meet you for a drink or a meal on neutral territory. If you have kids get someone to babysit as this is important. Meeting on neutral ground means you are more likely to have a reasonable discussion than a full blown argument.
Don't attack him or her or accuse them of anything. Simply talk about how you are feeling in general terms trying very hard to keep any blame out of the equation. Give them a chance to talk and explain their feelings. Even if it is your relationship that needs rescuing, they may be very grateful that you have brought the issue out into the open.
Most of the time secrets are not good for relationships. The people who have been together for forty years will tell you that it takes hard work, mutual trust and respect to keep love alive. By trying to keep the lines of communication open between you as a couple, you go some way towards developing the trust and respect that you need to survive.
Stop second guessing yourself today and take some action. You and only you can resolve this and it won't happen by putting your head in the sand. Check out my blog How to Save Your Relationship From Catastrophe, located at the back of this ebook, read the articles that fits your situation and then speak to your partner. Only by taking action can you prevent a relationship rescue service being required.
Knock 3 Times On the Pipes If You Can HEAR Me True story, listen to how this person described their situation. I bet you'll be able to relate to it.This person said they felt trapped in their basement trying to communicate with their spouse via Morse Code. They said they were banging on the pipes trying desperately to be heard. They
would bang on the pipes and wait for a response. Bang and wait...bang and wait...bang and wait. But each time they finished banging, there was silence. No matter how hard they banged and no
matter how long they waited, their spouse never heard them.
We live in an interesting time. With one click, you can communicate with anyone in the world. It's easy, quick, and free. You even have options. If you don't want to click, you could dial, beep, page, instant-message, or Fed Ex. It's true. Your ability to communicate with the outside world has become increasingly easy. But my guess is that your ability to communicate with your spouse has become increasingly difficult.
The reason for this is that most people confuse INFORMATION communication with PERSONAL communication. Technological advancements give us all sorts of options to communicate information. But how do you feel the pulse of someone's soul? How do you communicate the subtleties in your heart? You can't text message that. You can have the latest and greatest in communication gadgets, but it won't matter. PERSONAL communication is a whole different ball game. And it's PERSONAL
communication that determines the success or failure of your marriage.
I'm reminded of a scene from a Broadway play. A man and woman happen to meet on a train and engage in polite conversation. They were both headed home to New York after a day in New Haven,
CT. After further discussion, they learned that they were going to the same building on Fifth Avenue. Lo and behold they discovered that they had the same daughter and lived in the same
apartment. They finally discovered that they were husband and wife.
You know what's killing marriages these days? EMAIL! More and more I'm seeing husbands and wives resort to email to communicate with each other. You want to do something tangible TODAY to improve your marriage? STOP EMAILING YOUR SPOUSE! Email is for INFORMATION. But in a marriage you've got to HEAR each other. And I don't mean hear the sounds of each others words. You've got to be able to hear the silence between the sounds and interpret the unspoken meaning of pressed lips or teary eyes. You've got to be able to hear the shapes and sounds in each others heart. You can NOT accomplish this via email.
Also let me be clear about something, you can't do it with communication techniques either. There's no clinical communication therapy that can help you and your spouse think each others thoughts, feel each other joy, and cringe from each others pain - If you're like most people with marriage trouble, you've been down that path and you know that it does NOT work.
So what does this have to do with communication in a marriage? Because most people think that if spouses aren't hearing each other that communication techniques will solve the problem.
But that's like putting a band-aide on a bruise. It's the wrong solution.
Communication techniques can help colleagues transmit INFORMATION clearly. Communication techniques belong in seminars that teach negotiation and sales. But you're not trying to complete a transaction with your spouse, you're trying to renew a relationship. I can almost guarantee you that your problem is not clarity, it's concern. Ironically, communication techniques sometimes give people clarity that
they don't care what their spouse thinks or feels. They "got it," but "it" doesn't matter to them anymore.
Listen carefully, Communication has very little to do with techniques or knowledge of each other. It has everything to do with the depth of connection between the communicators. The question you should be asking is NOT, "How do I communicate effectively with my spouse." The question you should be asking is, "How do I connect with my spouse again?" Once you reconnect, you won't be sitting in silence in the basement. You'll hear the sound of the pipes from above. It'll be your spouse. You were heard.
Marriage Problems and Your KidsFirst a quick quote:
You can use most any measure
When you're speaking of 'Success'. You can measure it in fancy home, Expensive car or dress.
But....the measure of your REAL success Is the one you can not spend.
It's the way your kids describe YOU When they're speaking to a friend!
- Martin Buxbaum
You're probably trying your best to be a good parent, right? Think for a moment about all the time, energy, and money you put into your children. You send them to the best schools, help
them with their homework, buy them the cutest Sunday clothes, work hard to save for their college education, take them to the best doctors, plan special birthday parties, drive them to baseball practice, and make their favorite dinner.
That's all fine Terry, but make no mistake about it, the MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do for your children is NONE of those things. The most important thing you can do for your children has nothing to do with their education, entertainment, athletic endeavors, or even their physical health. The most important thing YOU can do for your children is to have a GREAT MARRIAGE
with your spouse. It's hard to be a good parent unless you have a good marriage. Why? Because teaching your children how to succeed in love is your MOST IMPORTANT responsibility.
There will be nothing more important in your children's lives than the success of their marriage. (I know you know that.) And who's going to teach them how to love their spouse. You are!
But they won't learn it from what you say, they'll learn it from the life you lead...they'll learn it from YOUR marriage.
Whatever you want your children to achieve in their life, you first have to achieve yourself. If you're struggling in your marriage, it's probably because your parents struggled too. So, who's going to break the cycle? Will YOU be the one to change things for generations to come? Or will your children suffer
the same burden? Balls in your court!!
It's not easy to be what's called a "transition person." But it's doable. YOU can be the "transition person" in your lineage and pave a new path for future generations in your family. there's nothing better for your children than to raised amidst the comfort of parents who love each other. And there's nothing
more devastating to a young soul than to be the victim of a broken family.
It's well known that 50% of FIRST marriages end in divorce. Do you know what percent of SECOND marriages end in divorce?
It should be LESS than 50%, right? After all, who would make those same painful mistakes again? People marrying a second time have the "benefit"of knowing what kind of person to pick this time, right?
The divorce rate for SECOND marriages is 70%! And THIRD marriages - closer to 80%! Do you mean to tell me my chances get worse not better?"
That's right. Because the key to succeeding in marriage is NOT finding the right person, it's YOU becoming the right person. We'll get back to that point in a moment. Did you know that women who finally get out of abusive relationships usually fall in love with another abusive man? What bad luck, right?
It's not luck. Did you know that men whose first wives cheated on them usually get cheated on by their second wife too?How could that be? You'd think that after suffering the torment of infidelity a man would only marry a woman with impeccable morals and unwavering commitment. You'd think...but it doesn't work that way.
listen to this story. It'll pull all the pieces together for you.A man once came to a town and asked the local sage, "I'm thinking about moving here. What kinds of people live here?"
The sage asked the man, "What kinds of people live in the town you came from?""Where I'm from the people are liars, cheaters, and mean spirited," the man responded.
"The people are the same here," said the sage.
Then another man came to town and asked the sage the same question, "I'm thinking about moving here. What kinds of people live here?"
The sage asked the man, "What kinds of people live in the town you came from?""Where I'm from the people are wonderful, kind, and courteous," the man responded. "The people are the same here," said the sage.
- You see, people are not as you see them, people are as YOU are...
What do you get when you smile at someone? You get a smile back. And if you stare at someone? You get a stare back. What you get is what you are. We're NOT an objective observer of
the people in our life; we're a subjective influence. In other words, our presence changes what we observe. Let me give you a simple example. Let's say you wanted to measure the temperature in a small room. So you bring a thermometer into the room
and wait for a reading. But since your body temperature is 98.6 degrees, the fact that you're in the room changes the reading you get. As long as you're there, things are different.
It works the same in your marriage. Your relationship is not simply a function of who you pick, it's also a function of who you are. Who you are and who your spouse is mixes to form the dynamics of your relationship. I know you want your spouse to change. And YES your marriage would be better if they did. But YOU changing can change things just as well.
Now, please listen carefully and please don't misunderstand my point. I'm NOT saying that everything is your fault. If your
spouse receives my emails or whatever, then they're reading the same message directed to THEM. It's no ones fault, but it's everyone's RESPONSIBILITY. In other words, BOTH you and your spouse contribute to the dynamics in your relationship, whatever they are, and BOTH you and your spouse can single handed-ally change them.
No matter what your spouse did to cause your marriage to deteriorate, they're responsible. And they should change. But you played a role too. I know that's hard to hear. It's a bitter pill to swallow. But once you swallow it, you're no
longer a helpless victim, you become empowered to change circumstances that seemed out of your control.
It's easy to confess your spouse's sins. And you're probably correct about what your spouse needs to change. But it does no good to be right. And it's a complete waste of time and energy to focus on your spouse's problems. There's nothing you can do about it. Your spouse will change only when they're ready to change. The only relevant question for you is: What's YOUR fixing? You had a role in the deterioration of your marriage. I've never seen a marital situation caused by one spouse. There's always dual responsibility. What can YOU do to improve the situation?
Reflect on your past relationships. Do you see a pattern? Look at your parent's marriage. Are you recreating the model you saw when you were a child? Have you explored with a professional the
childhood roots of your relationship habits and how they contributed to your marital circumstances?
Even if your spouse had an affair, you're partly responsible. That doesn't mean that it's your fault and it doesn't excuse your spouse's inappropriate behavior, but the question still remains: What was your spouse seeking outside your marriage that was not available within it?
Don't just sit there sulking in the misery of your situation while you wait for your spouse to change or for God to perform a
miracle. If you want your situation to change, then change it! Do YOUR part. Because if YOU change, then everything around you changes too.
Have you ever heard the expression, "Love is never having to say you're sorry?"
Sometimes I wonder how such utterly ridiculous expressions become commonly accepted. If you're close to someone, you're going to step on their toes occasionally. And when you hurt someone,
ESPECIALLY YOUR SPOUSE, it's important to say,
"I'm sorry."
Not only is it important to say "I'm sorry," but it's important to say it well. Usually the words alone are not enough. You have to get inside your spouse's heart, feel their pain, and in order for them to forgive you, they have to feel COMPLETELY
understood. Otherwise, you might say, "I'm sorry," and your spouse might say, "It's okay," but nothing will change. You could be stuck in that hurt for years.
I wish for you and your spouse that you SUCCESSFULLY move through your past hurt and that "I'm sorry" restores your relationship the way those 2 magic words have the power to do.
Ask TW - "Dub" Jackson (expert counselor)...If You Can't Find The Words, He Can Help You!Here's the answer. EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your spouse. You anticipated their call, wanted their touch, and liked their idiosyncrasies.
Falling in love with your spouse wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love - because it's happening TO YOU.
People in love sometimes say, "I was swept off my feet." Think about the imagery of that expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something came along and happened TO YOU.
-Falling in love is easy. It's a passive, spontaneous experience. But after a few years of marriage, the euphoria
of love fades. It's the natural cycle of EVERY relationship. Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and your
The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship, but if you think about your marriage, you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love
and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.
At this point, you and/or your spouse might start asking, "Did I marry the right person?" And as you and your spouse reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when marriages break down. People blame their spouse for their unhappiness and look outside their marriage for fulfillment.
Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes. infidelity is the most obvious. But sometimes people turn to work, church, a hobby, a friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances.
-But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your marriage. It lies within it...I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could. And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later. Because (listen
very carefully), THE KEY TO SUCCEEDING IN MARRIAGE IS NOT FINDING THE RIGHT PERSON; IT'S LEARNING TO LOVE THE PERSON YOU FOUND.
SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. It'll NEVER just happen to you. You can't "find" LASTING love. You have to "make" it day in and day out. That's why we have the
expression "the labor of love." Because it takes time, effort, and energy. And most importantly, it takes WISDOM. You have to know WHAT TO DO to make your marriage work...And, make no mistake about it. Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things you can do (with or without your spouse) to succeed
with your marriage.
Just as there are physical laws of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships. Just as the right diet and exercise program makes you physically stronger, certain habits in your relationship WILL make your marriage stronger. It's a direct cause and effect. If you know and apply the laws, the results are predictable - you can "make" love.
If Your In A Bad Relationship - Self Help Techniques May Not WorkIf you are in a bad relationship self help techniques may not work unless you seek the right type of advice. If you walk into any bookstore you will see shelves of books written on relationships. They will cover all topics and be written by men and women, some of whom will have very impressive credentials.
But how do you know they will work? How do you know that these same writers are themselves happily involved with someone? Quite frankly I believe you have to be in a great relationship before you can help other people with theirs. After all you don't go to a nun for sex help do you? So why ask a single person how a partnership should work?
You need to use self help books like "The Cupids Cure" a interacting software designed by a real person, who is very happily married and writes to help real people just like you, with similar relationship problems. You want someone who cares whether you and your partner make it or not. Someone who will answer your emails should you wish to ask them a personal question because just sometimes the books don't always cover everything.
Any relationship can be improved. There is no such thing as a "perfect one" just as no human being is perfect. But you can have a great relationship with your existing partner. They are probably Mr or M