Request Newsletter | Bridal Online Website | Return To Main Page

Marriage & Wedding Information


Marriage Advice: Upgrade Your Marriage By Changing Your Focus


As the story goes, a Cherokee elder was sitting with his grandchildren. He told them, "In every life there is a terrible fight-a fight between two wolves. One is evil: he is fear, anger, envy, greed, arrogance, self-pity, resentment, and deceit. The other is good: joy, serenity, humility, confidence, generosity, truth, gentleness, and compassion."

One of his grandchildren asked, "Grandfather, which wolf will win?" The elder looked him in the eye and replied, "The one you feed."

This brief story contains a far-reaching truth. You choose which traits, attitudes, beliefs, and values you will give attention to. And what you focus on will grow and expand. For example, if you value honesty, this value will affect all of your dealings and interactions with others. If you nurture and "feed" resentment, it will eventually take over your life.

Continually focusing on marriage problems makes the relationship seem even worse than it actually is. If you continually talk about how you've been done wrong and how angry you are at your spouse, your anger will grow and blot out your memories of more positive times. When that happens, you are unable to see a balanced picture.

The more energy you devote to focusing on the negatives in your relationship, the worse and more hopeless everything seems. And when you're feeding your negativity, your creative energy is frozen. Thus, you don't have the ability to generate helpful options or a fresh perspective.

You influence your perception of reality by the thoughts you think, the beliefs you hold, and the attitudes you cultivate. According to Katherine Mansfield, "Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently, but life itself would come to be different. Life would undergo a change of appearance because we ourselves had undergone a change of attitude."

In each moment, you decide whether to make negative or positive interpretations about the events and people in your life. These interpretations shape your experience of reality and impact your capacity to be all you can possibly be. They also affect your expectations about what is possible.

Choosing to develop qualities such as compassion, honesty, serenity, and joy can transform your marriage and your life. And choosing to reduce the resentment, anger, deceit, and fear in your life can lighten your emotional load and leave you will more energy to generate creative solutions to your marriage problems.

As you become more positive, you bring more positive energy into your interactions with your spouse. When this happens, surprising things can happen in your marriage. The sharp, prickly edge of anger can start to soften between you and your partner. New insights and understandings about a situation can occur, and you can be more likely to find the middle ground of compromise.

The following tips can assist you in training yourself to focus more on what's right with your marriage and your life:

1.Take the time each day to list the things that you are grateful for in your life. Remember to include the things people often take for granted, such as three meals a day, a hot shower, heat, a stove and refrigerator, running water, medical care, and friends.

2.Each day, remind yourself of your spouse's positive qualities and contributions to your life. Think back to what attracted you to your partner initially. Reflect on how your spouse has caused you to stretch and grow and on how much you've learned from the experience.

3.Write in your journal about what positive qualities in yourself you want to cultivate and develop. These are the attitudes, beliefs, and values that you want to focus on and encourage to take root, grow, and thrive in your life.

4.Visit a library or bookstore and select some inspirational reading material and inspirational tapes or CD's. Find the time each day to read or listen to something that is positive, encouraging, and inspiring. It's important to refill at the well of inspiration daily.

5.Spend less time with friends and family members who are negative and leave you feeling depressed and fatigued. There's a name for those individuals who drain your positive energy-"energy vampires." Instead, cultivate new friends who are positive, supportive, and encouraging and who bring out the best in you.

Nancy J. Wasson, Ph.D., is co-author of Keep Your Marriage: What to Do When Your Spouse Says "I don't love you anymore!" This is available as an e-book at http://www.KeepYourMarriage.com ,where you can also sign up for the free Keep Your Marriage Internet Magazine to get weekly ideas and support to help you improve your marriage. Nancy can be contacted at Nancy@KeepYourMarriage.com.


MORE RESOURCES:

Seattle Post Intelligencer

Do We Lap Up 'Scary' Wedding Films? We Do
Washington Post, United States - 7 hours ago
Kate Hudson, left, and Anne Hathaway play best friends mutated into selfish harridans, each fighting to have her perfect wedding, in "Bride Wars. ...
Wedding Bells for Anne Hathaway? The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
Hollywood and weddings make such a nice couple Tulsa World
Kristen Johnston steals the scene Los Angeles Times
The Associated Press - Access Atlanta
all 454 news articles


The Associated Press

Eloping to Vegas? Why Not Lower Manhattan?
New York Times, United States - 9 hours ago
But, with revenues tight and tourist dollars desperately needed, the Bloomberg administration has created a 24000-square-foot wedding palace, in the hope of ...
NY hears wedding bells, aims to compete with Vegas The Associated Press
Manhattan's new Marriage Bureau earns wows as a place to say your vows New York Daily News
Manhattan Seeks To Rival Las Vegas As Wedding Quickie Wedding ... AHN
WNYC - HappyNews.com
all 232 news articles


San Francisco Chronicle

Blizzard Almost Wrecked Feguson's Wedding
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 14 hours ago
AP Photo/Peter Kramer Comedian and talk show host Craig Ferguson's secret Christmas wedding almost ended in disaster when a snow storm forced nearly all the ...
'Late Late Show' host reveals his holiday wedding The Associated Press
Congrats on getting hitched, Craig Ferguson! Entertainment Weekly
Craig Ferguson's Secret Wedding Star Magazine
Baltimore Sun - E! Online
all 235 news articles


Need a tail-less dolphin for your wedding?
MSNBC - 17 hours ago
The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is giving away a free wedding package, where one couple will be chosen to get married on a platform over the main dolphin ...
Want to get married at the Clearwater aquarium? Tampabay.com
all 22 news articles


MyParkMag

Fergie Preps for Her "Very Private" Wedding
E! Online - 16 hours ago
On the seductive side, Fergie did some lingerie shopping on Sunday at Kiki de Montparnasse, perhaps picking up something sexy to slip into after the wedding ...
Fergie Keeps Nuptials On Hush, Guests Unaware Of Weekend Wedding ... Singersroom News
Fergie's Wedding Countdown! OK! Magazine
Details Uncovered on Fergie and Josh Duhamel's Weekend Wedding AceShowbiz
HipHopRX - MyParkMag
all 12 news articles


Washington Post

Alyssa Milano: Wedding Bells
The Gossip Girls - Jan 6, 2009
... was available about the impending nuptials, but stay linked to the Gossip Girls for the latest on Alyssa Milano’s engagement and wedding details.
Actress Alyssa Milano to wed Hollywood agent The Associated Press
Charmed! Alyssa Milano engaged to agent David Bugliari, wedding ... Examiner.com
Jennifer Garner and Alyssa Milano (Photos) Baby and a Wedding National Ledger
Waleg.com - Newsday
all 248 news articles


Newlyweds sue after sprinklers rain on their wedding
New York Daily News, NY - 3 hours ago
"I can't say it ruined my wedding. Nothing could have ruined my day," Svetlana said. "I felt the worst for my guests. I had people who were soaked from head ...


Extra TV

Britney & Sons at Louisiana Wedding
Extra TV - 22 hours ago
"Circus" ringmaster Britney Spears put on this classic little black dress for her brother Bryan's wedding in Kentwood on New Year's Eve -- with adorable ...
Britney Spears Dresses Up Her Boys for Bro's Wedding Celebuzz
Britney Spears takes the kids to bro's wedding Tampabay.com
Britney Spears: Before Bryan’s Wedding Just Jared
Fashion.ie - People Magazine
all 18 news articles


KHOU

Plan now for a 2009 wedding
Agoura Hills Acorn, CA - 6 hours ago
The Bridal Premiere, a day of wedding exhibits and fashion shows, will be on Sun., Jan. 11 at the Hyatt Westlake, 880 S. Westlake Blvd., Westlake Village. ...
Houston wedding show could help brides on a budget KHOU
Bridal extravaganza at showground Peterborough Today
all 4 news articles


Javno.hr

Pink Wants to Give Away Ex at His Wedding
People Magazine - Jan 6, 2009
"I told him that I would give him away at his next wedding," Pink, 29, says in an interview in Seventeen magazine's February issue. ...
Pink Hopes To Give Ex-Husband Away At His Next Wedding KBS Radio
Pink happy to give away ex Metro
Pink wants to give away her ex Examiner.com
Monsters and Critics.com - Digital Spy
all 24 news articles

Wedding - Google News

home | site map

Site Map | Site Map | Links

© 2006