Did You Think Your Fiancée Was Perfect?
By David and Claudia Arp
Before marriage it's easy to see the positive. But once we marry, our rose-colored glasses tend to fade.
Did you, like us, discover that the person you thought was just about perfect also had some irritating habits? The reality of living together creates tension, and it's easy to focus on the negative instead of the positive.
For many of us, we simply need to refocus, to look for the positive. What you look for (focus on) will always be what you find.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the great German poet and philosopher, said, "If you treat a man as he is, he will stay as he is. If you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become that bigger and better man."
Begin to look at your mate through with this attitude. Why not acknowledge and affirm your mate's strengths and his or her desire to grow and change?
Consider these steps:
1. Concentrate on Each Other's Strengths
2. Track Your Positives and Negatives - Write 5 positives for each negative
3. Make a "Positive List" - this helps us be creative and intentional about being positive.
___________________________________________________
God bless your family and your marriage.
Jim Stephens