Most marriage and relationship advice books focus on solving problems. But my guests today argue that we shouldn’t wait until problems arise in our relationship to work on strengthening it. Instead, they say, when times are good, we should think about how to keep that good, and act to make it even better. Their […]
In the two-way dance of social interactions, there’s plenty you can do to act smoothly yourself — from smiling and giving good eye contact, to asking good questions and demonstrating genuine interest. But there are also ways to make things as easy as possible for the other person to execute their end of the exchange.
Friendship is arguably the most unique type of relationship in our lives. Friendships aren’t driven by sexual attraction or by a sense of duty, as in romantic and familial relationships, but instead are entirely freely chosen. My guest today says that’s part of why friendship is both uniquely wonderful and uniquely challenging. His name
Why do people sometimes fall in love with someone who is all kinds of wrong for them? Their friends and family see lots of red flags about their partner, but they themselves miss these warnings entirely, sometimes to catastrophic consequences. My guest today argues that these kinds of errors in relational decision-making happen when someone lets
Navigating first impressions can be a tricky business. On the one hand, you want to be yourself, not only for the sake of authenticity, but to allow you and the other person to accurately feel out whether or not you have a connection worth pursuing. Acting like someone you’re not for the sake of being
Editor’s Note: The article was originally published in January 2008. We’ve updated it. Over the past few years, many social observers have noted that young adults are dating less. Instead, dating is being replaced by “hanging out” with members of the opposite sex. Dating and hanging out are two completely different things. Hanging out consists
We’ve all been there: you’re sitting at home some evening and you don’t have plans, you haven’t heard from family or friends for awhile, and you’ve got things on your mind, but don’t feel like there’s anyone you can talk to about them. You feel down and adrift, and sense an almost physical ache in your
It’s a common lament: making friends in adulthood is hard. After college, it can seem quite difficult to form the kind of tight relationships you enjoyed as a youth and develop not just a network of causal acquaintances, but a circle of real friends. Researchers have found that there are three keys for overcoming these
It’s a thought that’s crossed many a desk jockey’s mind: “Man, I’d love to flee this office, get out from under this fluorescent-lighting, and do something more concrete with my hands. Like, maybe, build a cabin in the woods.” My guests had these thoughts, and unlike most, actually pulled the trigger on their long-standing daydream.
With many relationships, the reasons they end are clear. Two people who are dating realize they’re not compatible in some way and don’t have a future together. A married couple decides they can’t stand living with each other anymore. Business partners split to pursue divergent goals. A boss fires an employee for stealing from the
