Better Together: Plan ahead, respect myself, inner peace.
Welcome to Better Together. The newsletter focused on showing you how amazing your marriage can be, and trying to help you get there. Each week we give you a brief glimpse into our lives and three potentially life-changing ideas to help you become a better partner. We hope that you will find this newsletter inspirational and practical.
We believe that “close relationships, more than money or fame, are what keep people happy throughout their lives.” [1] We believe that by strengthening marriages, and families, we can improve the world at large.
We hope you will help us share this vision. Please consider sharing this newsletter with others via: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, or email.
1. the Grant Study, a 75-year-long Harvard research project on human development
From Our Lives
Recently I went to an event and I ate more than I should have.
That night, as I tried to sleep, I kept thinking about my choices. Should have I eaten that much? What should have I done differently? Much of what I have learned over the last few years came back to me.
Before I left home, I should have created a plan with Nathan so he could have helped keep me accountable. I have found doing this allows me to end the evening much happier with myself. Sometimes I even send him pictures of what I’m eating throughout the event.
While I was dishing up, I needed to keep in mind my past and future self. My past self has made significant sacrifices to get me to my current weight. My future self has to deal with any extra calories I eat today and make more sacrifices to get myself back to where I want to be. I need to respect both of them.
I needed to remember that my brain, in the moment, gets so excited about food, and about novelty, that it loses perspective. It will happily rationalize whatever it wants. I need to stay on the solid ground of what I have already decided, not what I want at the moment.
These tools are about far more than improving how I eat. They help me accomplish more in my daily life. They help me reduce how easily I get distracted with things of lower priority.
The real goal of all of this, is to create a closer relationship with my husband. Increasing my ability to pay attention to his needs and challenges. Increasing my willingness to share my needs and challenges with him. Increasing the unity between us.
What We Have Been Reading
“A happy marriage is not so much a matter of romance as it is an anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of one’s companion.”
— Gordon B. Hinckley
“I take you to be my partner for life,
I promise above all else to live in truth with you
And to communicate fully and fearlessly,
I give you my hand and my heart
As a sanctuary of warmth and peace
And pledge my love, devotion, faith and honor
As I join my life to yours.”
— Anonymous
“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.”
— Mignon McLaughlin
“A great marriage is not when the ‘perfect couple’ comes together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences.”
— Dave Meurer
Call To Action
Please help us by filling out our anonymous survey!
Now, go give your spouse a hug and tell them you love them!
Written and published by Nathan & Kelli.
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