Never...

Posted by Dr. Mark Goulston on September 5, 2007 10:59 PM PDT

Tags: Love, advice, anger, apologies, manners, relationships, Commitment, Marriage

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Never be:

- too rushed to say, "Thank You"
- too proud to say, "I'm sorry"
- or too angry to say, "Goodnight."

If you are too rushed to say, "Thank you," your relationship is leaning more towards being an arrangement than a relationship. If you're too proud to say, "I'm sorry" and too angry to say, "Goodnight," you'd rather be right than make things better and you're dangerously close to becoming the unforgiving person (you knew in your childhood) that you swore you'd never grow up to be like.

Making the time and effort to show gratitude, care about hurting someone's feelings, and let go of anger instead of hold onto it will feed any relationship.

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2 Comments

My experience is that both genders may sometimes be unwilling to express anger as we have been trained that anger is a "bad" thing. It can be easier to swallow or repress angry feelings to say "goodnight" without resolving the underlying issue. I wonder if we can't evolve your slogan to include "express your anger responsibly so that you can say goodnight"?

Jillian Eichel, M.Ed.
Director of Coaching and Singles Programs
445 East Ohio, Suite 260
Chicago, IL 60611
www.wrightliving.com

Posted by Jillian Eichel on September 8, 2007 12:19 PM PDT

I heartily agree with the need to show appreciation and express gratitude for your partner. Everyone wants to feel appreciated and showing it is a way to express love and stay focused on the good things about your partner.