Communication Notes

10 Commandments of Clean communication:

Loving relationships are the most important factor in a man’s happiness, success, and ability to live a fully flourishing life.

And one of the most important factors in creating and sustaining these warm, intimate relationships is communication.

Unfortunately, how to communicate with one’s significant other in a healthy, positive way is something rarely taught to either men or women. As a result, many couples find that their discussions regularly turn into heated, unproductive arguments that ultimately damage their relationship. Angry fighting leads to distance and weakens intimacy. Yelling, sarcasm, insults, and name-calling undermine trust. This kind of pejorative communication creates defensiveness and alienation, which makes it nearly impossible for a couple to address their issues together. What starts as a conversation escalates into a fight in which the original issue gets forgotten, you lose track of what you’re even yelling about, and nothing gets resolved.

In contrast, couples who know how to discuss their disagreements in a healthy way are able to nip problems in the bud before they turn into big, relationship-ending issues. The key to this kind of positive interaction is what the authors of Couple Skills call “clean communication.” Matthew McKay, Patrick Fanning, and Kim Paleg (hereafter referred to as MFP) define clean communication as “taking responsibility for the impact of what you say.” By being more intentional about their communication techniques and leaving out rhetoric that wounds one’s partner and creates defensiveness, a couple creates a safe place in which to honestly and respectfully work through their differences.

What are the principles of clean communication? MFP lay out 10 “commandments” to follow when you’re talking with your significant other. While the focus of this post is communication in a romantic relationship, much of this also applies to personal interactions in all areas of your life.

The 10 Commandments of Clean Communication

1. Avoid judgment words and loaded terms.

  • “You’re acting so childish right now.”
  • “Oh boo-hoo. I’m tired of your perpetual ‘poor me’ attitude.”
  • “Maybe if you were more of a man, you’d be able to handle this.”
  • “You’d probably feel better if you got off your fat, lazy ass and finally did something about it.”

When you’re having a heated argument with your significant other, it can be very tempting to level a real zinger at them – to use words and putdowns you know will wound them and push their buttons. Such zingers aim to point our their flaws and tear down their worth. They accomplish this mission – but at the expense of trust and intimacy.

2. Avoid “global” labels.

There are two ways to criticize someone – you can critique their character or their behavior. In criticizing behavior, you’re calling out something specific and temporary – something the person can realistically change. But in assailing someone’s very identity, you’re issuing a global label – a blanket condemnation of who they are at the core; they don’t just do bad stuff, they are a bad person.

Global labels can feel highly satisfying to hurl at someone when you’re angry and can seem completely justifiable at the time. In writing the person off as incorrigible, you also essentially absolve yourself of any responsibility for your issues as a couple: “We wouldn’t have this problem if you weren’t so selfish.”

But blanket condemnations of your partner’s character are anathema to a loving relationship. They will make her feel hurt and defensive, greatly hindering any chance of communication. Global labels also make your partner feel helpless – if the problem is rooted in their very identity/personality, changing will seem impossible to them. They’re liable to answer: “I’m sorry, but this is the way I am!” Thus, in using global labels you wash your hands of any responsibility for the problem, while at the same time, your partner will feel unable and unwilling to do anything about it either…not a recipe for effective conflict resolution!

Here are some examples of global labels, and how they could be better rendered as specific critiques of behavior instead of character:

  • “You’re so self-centered and only care about yourself.” → “In forgetting my birthday, I felt like you didn’t think about my feelings.”
  • “You’re such a bitch.”→ “Questioning my masculinity is a low-blow. I’d like to try to talk to you without the name-calling.”
  • “You’re always so helpless.” → “I know you’re having trouble figuring out how to download that app, but right now I need to finish this paper. If you still can’t get it, I promise to help you tonight.”

3. Avoid “you” messages of blame and accusation.

As MFP put it, “the essence of a ‘you’ message is simply this: ‘I’m in pain and you did it to me.’ And there’s usually this subtext: ‘You were bad and wrong for doing it to me.’” When people slight us, it may be true that they are entirely, or almost entirely, to blame. But when you lead with that blame, the instigator will instantly erect walls of defensiveness that will make working through the issue together impossible. This doesn’t mean you have to pretend your significant other is not at fault when they are, it just means you use language that says the same thing in a different way – couching your message so that it actually has a chance to surmount their psychological walls and reach their brain.

To do this, you want to swap out your you-centered accusations for statements that emphasize “I” – how you feel when your partner does certain things. Here are some examples:

  • “You always leave the house such a mess.” → “When the house is so cluttered I end up feeling stressed out.”
  • “Your moodiness is ruining our relationship.” → “When I can’t predict your moods, I’m not sure how to approach you, and I feel like that’s eroding the intimacy in our relationship.”
  • “You’re always late and it’s driving me crazy.” → “I feel embarrassed when we arrive late to events.”

 4. Avoid old history.

  • “You’re just being ungrateful like always. Remember when I spent all weekend cleaning the house before your folks arrived and you never even said thank you?”
  • “You don’t trust me? At least I’m not the one who cheated last year.”
  • “It’s always the same damned thing with you. You’re sorry about spending too much on the couch, just like you were sorry for going over budget on the kitchen remodel, and sorry for spending so much on the dress for our wedding…”

When you’re addressing a certain problem, stick with the issue at hand instead of slinging mud, or engaging in what my friend calls “closet-fighting” — i.e., reaching back into the closet of your past for old grievances to buttress your current accusations. When we closet-fight, MFP write, “The message is: ‘You’re bad, you’re bad, you’re bad. You’ve always had this flaw, and it’s not getting any better.’” While talking about your history together may be useful when you’re both calm, MFP recommend sticking to the present when things are heated, as “anger turns references to the past into a club rather than a source of enlightenment.”

Resurrecting old beefs will ratchet up the intensity of your discussion, and will invariably send it off in a different direction and away from resolving the original issue. Plus, your partner will likely be hurt that you’re still holding onto something she thought you’d forgiven her for, and you both will feel like your relationship isn’t progressing. It’s hard to move forward if you keep rehashing the past; instead, let sleeping dogs lie.

5. Avoid negative comparisons.

  • “You’re so irrational, just like your mom.”
  • “None of my exes were ever as clingy as you are.”
  • “Why can’t you be more fun like Derek’s girlfriend is?”

Being compared negatively to someone else sure can sting. We oftentimes want to think we’ve evolved past the flaws of our parents, so to hear “you’re just like your dad” feels like a punch to the gut. So too, our identities are very much based on comparing ourselves to our peers, and to have the person we love say we don’t stack up to them cuts at our sense of worth. Making negative comparisons also tells your partner that you’ve been thinking about someone else, and how that other person measures up to her, which can provoke hurt feelings and jealously.

6. Avoid threats.

  • “If you’re going to act like that, then I’m not going with you to your parents’ house this weekend.”
  • “If you can’t get your act together, then maybe we should get a divorce.”
  • “If you don’t want to be more adventurous in bed, I can find plenty of other women who are willing to be.”

MFP write that “the basic message of a threat is: you’re bad and I’m going to punish you.” It’s a way of trying to compel desired behavior, but since it shuts down the whole discussion, even if it works in the short term, the underlying issue will remain unresolved. If your partner complies, she’ll only be doing it to avoid the consequences of your threat, and if she doesn’t, the argument is going to escalate and/or keep reoccurring.

There is a place for quasi-ultimatums in a relationship, but they come after you’ve completely exhausted every attempt to communicate and compromise about the problem in a positive way. Too often people resort to a threat as an easy way to resolve things, and will even drop the D word to scare their spouse into compliance.

An “or else” statement shouldn’t be thrown around, and it shouldn’t be punitive. That is, if your partner is unwilling to meet your needs, create a plan to meet those needs yourself, but don’t do so in a way that’s specifically designed to punish your partner. So for example, if you want to spend more time with friends, but your significant other won’t budge on giving her blessing, you might say, “I’m going to start spending every Saturday morning with them,” and then follow through on that action. A punitive ultimatum, on the other hand, would be something like deciding to skip out on a concert you agreed to attend with her, in order to do something with your buddies.

Your partner may come to accept the implementation of your ultimatum or it may drive a wedge in your relationship. If the latter, it may spell the end; clean communication offers the best possible chance of relationship success, but doesn’t guarantee it if you just aren’t right for each other.

7. Describe your feelings rather than attack with them.

Your demeanor can truly be wielded like a weapon. When we raise our voice, withdraw into cold hostility, adopt a sneering tone, or employ biting sarcasm, we can wound those we love. Especially when it comes to communicating with women, you would be surprised how a cutting tone of voice can make them feel almost physically hurt. Instead, do your best to keep your voice level and calm.

As you discuss what’s bothering you, describe your emotions as specifically as possible. “In so doing,” MFP write, “your partner can hear what you’re feeling without being overwhelmed or bludgeoned by it.” Here are some examples:

  • “I feel disrespected when you make jokes at my expense when we’re out with your friends.”
  • “I feel jealous when I see you texting your ex.”
  • “I feel hurt when you ignore me when I come home from work.”

8. Keep body language open and receptive.

Even more than what we say, our body language conveys how we’re actually feeling. You may tell your significant other that you’re not angry and are willing to talk things through, but if your posture and facial expressions say otherwise, they will assuredly pick up on it. They’ll also likely match your defensive stance, and the discussion will get off to a rocky start.

To keep things amicable, adopt an open, rather than closed posture. Folding your arms, tensing your jaw, squinting, looking disgusted, balling up your fists, fidgeting in an irritated way, and rolling your eyes are all behaviors that make you seem closed off, hostile, and unwilling to communicate. Create sincere, inviting body language by relaxing your face, making warm eye contact, leaning forward, keeping your arms uncrossed, and nodding to show you’re listening.

9. Use whole messages.

Oftentimes, you may think you’re getting your message across to your significant other, but the result is a big miscommunication. They hear something much different than you intended. What we say makes total sense to us, because we have the entire context of it in our heads. But what actually comes out of our mouths may only be a slice of that bigger picture – a partial fragment that is then misconstrued by our partner.

To avoid this, strive to deliver “whole messages” when speaking with your significant other. Whole messages consist of 4 parts:

  • Observations: “Observations are statements of fact that are neutral, without judgments or inferences,” write MFP. “The house is a mess,” vs. “I’ve noticed you’re a slob.”
  • Thoughts: MFP describe this component as “your beliefs, opinions, theories, and interpretations of a situation. Thoughts are not conveyed as absolute truth but as your personal hypothesis or understanding of a situation. ‘My idea was…I wondered if…I suspected that…I worried that…The way I saw it was…’”
  • Feelings: Describe your feelings in a specific way that doesn’t blame your partner. “I’m concerned about our budget,” vs. “Your spending is out of control and really stressing me out.”
  • Needs/Wants: Too often we expect our partner to be mind readers, but as MFP note, “No one can know what you want unless you tell them.” For an in-depth guide to expressing your needs in a relationship, check out this post.

Here’s an example of a whole message:

“We haven’t been spending as much time together [Observation]. It seems like you’ve been busier, and I don’t know if that’s just because your classes are hard this semester or you just haven’t been as interested in hanging out [Thoughts]. I’ve been feeling distant from you and confused about the status of our relationship [Feelings]. I’d like for us to be more committed as a couple and to know what you think about the future of our relationship [Needs].”

10. Use clear messages.

Just as a partial message can be misconstrued, so too can a “contaminated” message. This occurs when you mix some of the 4 elements together or “mislabel” them in order to disguise your real intent. Your partner might say, “Hmmm, that’s an interesting way to do it,” when they really mean, “You’re doing it wrong.” Or for example, you might say to your wife, “And here you are finally, late as usual.” You’re pretending to make a straightforward observation, but you’re really mixing in your judgments, thoughts, and feelings. It would be better to say, “I’ve been waiting here for 20 minutes. It seems like you struggle to be on time. When I’m left waiting I end up feeling frustrated and disrespected. Do you think you could make more of an effort to be on time?”

MFP note that one “effective way to contaminate your message is to disguise it as a question”:

  • “Why didn’t you take out the trash last night?”
  • “Is there a reason all the dishes have been left in the sink?”
  • “Why don’t you take our finances more seriously?
  • “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

The questioner adopts the posture of soliciting information from their partner, but they already know the answer and their feelings about it; they’re really just making an accusation and showing their disapproval for their partner’s choice. To be honest, it seems like women do this more than men (sorry ladies), perhaps because they’re often less comfortable being assertive.

Muddy messages create distance and contention in a relationship. Your partner either will not be sure what you’re driving at, or will take umbrage at your not simply saying what you mean. Give it to ‘em straight, and give it to ‘em cleanly.

________________________

Source:

Couple Skills by Matthew McKay, Patrick Fanning, and Kim Paleg. I read through a bunch of relationship advice books recently looking for some good bits that might be helpful to pass along to readers. This was definitely the best in the bunch. It’s written by men (one of which runs a men’s support group) and includes lots of concrete, useful, practical tips. 

Leave a comment

On Relationships (Revision 17)

It’s hard for me to imagine I could write authoritatively on the subject of relationships, as there is a lot for me to learn, though I’ll start compiling a list of notes and develop it as my own from there. The initial skeleton of notes came from Jackie Francois years ago at one of her talks, yet the majority of the content here now is from my own experiences and from my own learning.

Relationships

Discerning God’s will is not a dichotomy of choosing either marriage or religious life. Dying to me means choosing to surrender to God not once but repeatedly, every day. Discerning to me means dying and sacrificing in Love, carrying our cross, awaiting with the Holy Spirit to see if it produces any fruit – not just in choosing our vocation, but in every decision in our life. Sometimes this means just being content right now that we are growing in love and not needing to pursue anything but the love and honor of God, giving unreservedly all.

How does discerning God’s will relate to relationships? Each relationship e.g. friendship does not have to be some soul-wrenching experience, simply enjoying the presence of another and having fun is sufficient for friendship. I’m referring to relationships in the context of prospective marriage. Obviously (or not), one has to know oneself and have done at least some serious discernment to know their vocation to enter into a commitment, a relationship with another. Human beings [on a certain level] are mysteries, there isn’t an exact science to relationships (and this is a good thing that people are mysteries, that our relationships can grow on an infinite scale). At the same time there are certain immutable truths to help us navigate the amazingly complex world of relationships between men and women. It seems absurd to believe that the creation of the universe to be without purpose and when we look at this in the context of marriage we see that when we understand the purpose of marriage, many complexities in relationships are dispelled.

God created marriage. The Goal is Heaven. Each other should bring each other to heaven:

  • St Thomas (I’m paraphrasing) says to love is to want the best good for the beloved. Upon some meditation we realize that the best good is God (love is in the will)
  • Each person should be leading each other to God:
    • Marriage is not the ultimate satisfaction of your deepest desires
    • In a marriage, one should not be a pseudo parent to the spouse otherwise there would not be a real husband-wife relationship
    • Your sole source of happiness cannot be in marriage, in this sense you can not find happiness in marriage, if the marriage is working, you can only be happier (you have to take responsibility of your own happiness)
  • God created sex; it is good! Sex is holy!
    • Sex should be celebrating intimacy (in-to-me-see, seeing, truly knowing the soul of the beloved) and its purpose is to bring the miracle of children into the world, to raise them up to be healthy, independent, adults, baptized in Love i.e. in God to be who God created them to be, gifts to the world
    • Sex in marriage is supposed to be an image of heaven, a foretaste of heaven
    • Sex is the renewal of the marriage vows, and marriage should be an example of God’s love in the world:
      • a free love (one made by deliberate choice e.g. not forced nor through co-dependency)
      • a total love (not promiscuous, uncommitted relationships, exclusive)
      • a faithful love (loyal, constant, and with faith, supernatural love)
      • a fruitful love (one that through intensity, births life)
    • Chastity does not take away from sex (it is not abstinence), it is the power to love:
      • As part of being a free love, one has command over his passions, such that he can give love as a gift (as a free person not enslaved; true freedom is choosing what is right, not being enslaved to sin)
      • Having command over the passions, one can truly give a free, total, faithful, fruitful love
      • Chastity is about purifying love that one may be truly intimate:
        • it is not co-dependency i.e. using each other to satisfy a deep void e.g. contraception
        • when both individuals are independent i.e. have a self identity, they can have a real “in-to-me-see”

Marriage is a gift from God. It seems to me we have to admit that there is much outside of our realm of control and we have to trust this to God. In some sense it isn’t something that is earned. In the heartache of relationships or the lack thereof, it seems an invitation for us to make progress to grow into a deeper relationship with God. And that is where our affections is supposed to be first anyway. Even in a marriage your spouse isn’t going to fulfill your deepest desire – only God can do that. So instead of focusing on things you cannot control i.e. waste energy in being anxious, focus on being present to God, attending to him. Secondarily (or concurrently) we can focus on becoming a healthy person, who can then be a good spouse either to God or another person, or to be a good parent to oneself, such that one may be a good parent to others.

Marriage is a sacrament. Both man and woman consecrate the love to Christ to invite him to be the center of the relationship and give them supernatural grace to grow and experience divine love and be able to model this love to their children and thus society.

[I’m beginning to realize this page needs a lot of reformatting and editing; perhaps breaking the page into more digestible portions]

Need to elaborate on:

  • the right of children to have a mother and father
  • the effects of divorce – a death experience
  • non-religious reasons against same-sex marriage

PRINCIPLES

  • Each relationship is unique; it is not a science (it does not mean there aren’t universal truths to guide us)
  • Some stuff I’ve come across that seems to make some sense though I don’t know its epistemological origin:
    • “If a man cannot see a woman’s worth then he is not for her” (how can he see her worth if he doesn’t respect her?)
    • “If she’s not interested, she’s probably not worth pursuing, but if she doesn’t know you, she can’t be interested”
    • “If she’s amazing, she won’t be easy. If she’s easy, she won’t be amazing. If she’s worth it, you won’t give up. If you give up, you’re not worthy” (yet I think it’s important to not put the woman on a pedestal to the point she implicitly thinks she can trample on the man or use him for more than she ought, is not the man supposed to lead or at least the relationship be on the same level?)
    • A woman’s heart should be so lost in God that a man needs to seek Him in order to find her (women should set the standard for men yet unfortunately in this “modern” world, other women [often through no fault of their own i.e. ignorance] lower the standard among women and make it harder for decent women to set the standard)
  • Optimism and trust are the soul of intimacy
    • We must risk being vulnerable if we want to be intimate.  However since we can never gather enough data to trust anyone absolutely, we must take the risk of trusting them at some point.  We also need optimism in our lives; with it we see all reality as ultimately having positive value

 

HOW TO DATE

  • Let God set up the relationship
  • Learn, get feedback from confidants/mentors e.g.:
    • Let ladies earn your love
      • You want a lady that’s actually interested in you, if she’s not that’s actually interested in you, she’s not worth it
      • You are your own man with strong conviction; you will not compromise nor be controlled by her; you can love her because you love yourself
        • Have detachment
        • Don’t be trying to earn people’s love
  • Dating, start with friendship, your goal is to get them to heaven
  • Friendship is not always necessary but there needs to be good potential.
  • Dating is getting to know somebody
  • Ask women on a date
    • Girls, give guys a chance
  • Give girl time to think
  • It girls say no, respect it
  • If you cant remain friends after an interest in a girl that said no then it’s use i.e. you’re not being authentic
  • Don’t lead other people on
    • Don’t have “non-date” dates
    • Be clear to say if it’s a date or not
  • Have detachment in dating
    • You can have dates with a few people since you are not being physical.
    • When you think it could really work make it exclusive
  • You will have peace and joy when you have found your vocation. Anxiety otherwise.
  • Affection is good but arousing another is a sin.
  • Both people have to be on the same page.  Don’t have only one person be the chastity cop.
  • Questions before getting Serious? (link)
  • Ideas/sample questions to ask
    • http://www.buzzle.com/articles/deep-questions-to-ask-a-girl.html

EXAMPLE PREPARED RESPONSES

  • “I had a great time, maybe we can have lunch another time.”
  • “You know, i had a great time, but i wont be asking you out on any more dates.”
  • “Thank you for being honest”
  • My own personal examples:
    • I’ve always been honest with you and I really enjoy our friendship
    • I want the best for you
    • Unless God wills or unless you stop me, I will never abandon you
    • I really enjoy our friendship, but I don’t know if it is just me, but I feel that there is kind of an akwardness; I don’t want anything to get in the way of our friendship
    • I have to be honest and say I am attracted to you and your beauty.. yet I will be glad to have our friendship to be totally platonic
    • Again, I want the best for you and I know we are both healing; I want to give the space you need to heal
    • I feel like I can read your soul sometimes and I think I know how you feel.  I’m here for you if you want us to heal together

DON’Ts

  • Don’t just wait around; prepare
  • Don’t be so picky that you don’t end up with anybody
  • Don’t be self-seeking
  • It’s more about them
  • “how am I going to affirm them?”
  • “how do I make the other person happy?”
  • Don’t sin
  • Don’t lose heart

DO’s

  • Have faith in God and trust He cares
  • Do follow God’s laws; God will bless you through obedience
  • Do talk about your relationships with God
  • Be totally honest with yourself
  • Do communicate with the other person the whole time
  • Get your life in order, you can’t give what you don’t have. No one is perfect, at the same time, would you date you if you knew yourself?

STAGES OF RELATIONSHIP

  • Like
  • Friendship
  • Love proclaimed
  • Proven love
  • Commitment

REFERENCE MATERIAL

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

LINKS

  • 5 Questions to ask before you say ‘I do’:
    • 1. Are You and Your Fiancé Willing to Work at Premarital Education?

    • 2. Are You and Your Fiancé Willing to Hear From Your Relational Community?

    • 3. Are You Willing to Look Honestly at the “Red Flags”?

    • 4. Are You Willing to be Ruthlessly Honest About Your Own Brokenness?

    • 5. Are You Ready for Unconditional Commitment?

  • How to make the most of a bad breakup?:
    • 1. Reinvent Yourself

    • 2. Deal With Your Junk

    • 3. Forge a New Path

    • 4. Outgrow Loneliness

  • 6 ways to avoid Toxic Relationships (link):
    • Recognize the Rebound
    • Avoid Controlling and Possessive People
    • Don’t Tolerate a Flake
    • Abolish the Myth That Physical Chemistry is Everything
    • Unmatched Values and Priorities are a Recipe for a Broken Heart
  • How to Know You’re Ready for Marriage (link) – This is from Dr Laura, I’m not entirely endorsing her though a lot of stuff she says makes sense; she has a lot of real world experience and I think it is more important than some [fluffy i.e. “academic”] degrees
    • You share similar goals.
    • If you and your guy have different priorities, you’re going to end up being disappointed. For example, a woman called my show the other day complaining that her husband had moved their family 13 times in as many years to satisfy his appetite for wanderlust (which is a HORRIBLE thing for kids).  Before you consider marriage, ask yourself and your partner about where you want to live, if you want to have kids, and religious views.  Find out what the deal breakers are.
    • You don’t want to change him.
    • Similar to buying a dress from the store, when you get married, you take your man “as-is”.  Sure, you might be able to tweak him a little bit, but you can’t fundamentally change him.  If you don’t accept that, you’re going to end up frustrated and bitchy.  You don’t have to adore everything about him, but you do have to make peace with the fact that on Sunday afternoons it’s him and ESPN, and you’re not going to change that. (I don’t agree on the ESPN part though)
    • You connect on more than just a physical level.
    • A very small percentage of marriage is spent in passionate lovemaking.  You need to know that you can have fun together and enjoy each other when your clothes are ON.
    • You can see past your wedding day.
    • Many women are bridezillas: They are so focused on their wedding and being the center of the universe in their stunning white gown that they lose sight of their fiancé and the whole concept of marriage.
    • You can talk to each other.
    • You know you’re ready to get married when you can talk things out rationally (without yelling or screaming) and not let issues get pushed under the rug without being resolved.
    • Everyone you know says your guy is fab.
    • It’s fine if a few family members or friends aren’t huge fans (you can’t please everybody), but if everyone you know hates this guy, they might be on to something.  Your family and friends know you, and they can look at the situation objectivity. If they’re reasonably nice people, pay attention to them, otherwise your marriage is going to be a constant acid drip.
  • How to go on an actual date (link)
    • 7 Ground Rules for a proper date:
      • Is inspired: Art is original, not copied nor recycled. Going through the motions is cheap and disrespectful.
      • Is asked by name: Be open to getting to know someone as friends outside of a proper date, but reject the “sneak-a-date,” which is the lowest form of pursuit.
      • Is asked in person: If you are not ready to ask in person, then you aren’t ready for anything that follows anyway.
      • Is asked well in advance: You have no obligation to respond to last minute hang out requests and lazy nondescript invitations. See #2.
      • Is asked one at a time: No good can come from trying to cultivate romantic feelings for more than one person at a time.
      • Is a three part date: This means “coffee” is not a proper date and never was. Sorry. If there is no plan the date is void. See #2.
      • Is followed up the next day: The rest is up to you, but let nothing stop you from at least thanking the person for their time, no matter how the date went.
  • Secular info – I don’t necessarily endorse all the secular information though I’ll put references to links that I largely agree with:
    • 3 things all women want in a real man (link)
      • Leadership:
        • taking initiative
        • having my own life in control
        • show that you can take care of them
      • Integrity:
        • man of your word
        • follow through
        • Personal responsibility
        • reliable demonstrated through actions
      • Fun side:
        • Risk taker
        • wild sexy side – not boring
        • be, do, or have something they would enjoy spending their precious time with
    • Key things to make a relationship sucessful (link)
      • Self Love: The happiest couples always consisted of two (sometimes more) emotionally healthy and independently happy individuals. These people practiced self-love. They treated themselves with the same type of care that they treated their partner… or at least they tried to.
      • Emotionally healthy people know how to forgive, they are able to acknowledge their part in any disagreement or conflict and take responsibility for it. They are self-aware enough to be assertive, to pull their weight, and to give love when it’s most difficult.
      • Commitment: After that emotional health came an unquestioning level of commitment. The happiest couples knew that if shit got real, their significant other wasn’t going to walk out on them. They knew that even if things got hard – no, especially if things got hard — they were better off together. The sum of the parts is greater than the whole.
      • Establish that foundation, and you’re in good shape.
      • Intentionality: This is the icing on the cake. There’s a difference between the couple who drives through the rainstorm and the couple who pulls their car to the side of the road to make out in the rain. (Yes, that’s a true story.) There’s a difference between the couple who kisses for 10 seconds or longer when they say goodbye to each other rather than just giving each other a peck… or nothing at all. There’s a difference between the couples who encourage each other to pursue their personal goals at the expense of their own discomfort or inconvenience… even if it means their partner has to stage kiss another woman.
      • The couples who try on a daily basis to experience some sort of meaningful connection, or create a fun memory are the couples who shattered my perception of what was possible in a loving relationship.”
    • Gottman seems pretty secular to me though since it is “evidence-based”, concepts or conclusions here may suggest deeper supernatural phenomena:
    • 10 Ways To Know You’re Dating A True Gentleman (link) – warning: this is from a secular humanist and not a Christian; the ideas on surface seem good though remember not to love the ideas and philosophies more than he who created them i.e. Jesus; don’t disregard his teaching i.e. the teaching of the Catholic Church
      • A true gentleman values more than just your looks.
      • A true gentleman will never be intimidated by your motivation.
      • A true gentleman will have more interests than just you.
      • A true gentleman will give you answers.
      • A true gentleman is direct.
      • A true gentleman will trust you.
      • A true gentleman is cool, calm, and collected.
      • A true gentleman will show you respect.
      • A true gentleman will put effort into your relationship.
      • A true gentleman will make you want to be the best version of yourself, without changing who you really are.
    • Unsorted:
      • http://www.drlaura.com/b/Why-We-Stay-in-Bad-Relationships/-275676505856164203.html?utm_campaign=0807Why-Stay-Bad-Relationships

MEDITATIONS

  • We need to redeem dating
  • Chastity = whole
  • Stages of interior life (not exclusive):
    • Purgative
    • Illumitive – do things out of love for God – be light for people
    • Unity – mystic – see God in everything
  • You can’t love anybody you don’t know
  • What does “Equally yoked” mean?
    • What should I look for? In my experience I didn’t know what to look for at first, it now seems like you will know when you know, when God lets you know
  • To me it seems like relationships should be more about what you can give, than what you can receive
  • Who am I and who should I be? What duties does a man in a relationship have?
  • What have I initiated? How am I leading?

ACTION ITEMS

  • Build friendships:
    • Develop trust
    • Don’t try too hard
    • Listen more talk less
    • Meet friends like old high school friends
    • Put God first, don’t even worry about getting in a relationship
  • Know people’s love languages e.g.:
    • People who love scripture may have affirmation as their love language.
    • Quality time – these people may rather spend time with a few people, not a bunch of surface conversations
  • Know your worth.  If they can’t respect you, they don’t deserve you
  • Pray
  • Daily Examination
    • How did i love and how did i fail?
    • I need to love myself more and really believe in my worth
  • Create a non-negotional list e.g.:
    • must be Catholic
    • must be honest and open
    • must be pro-life not because I said so, but because they truly are
    • must love God first
    • must be willing to learn and change
    • I cannot change her and she needs to realize she can’t change me either, but we both want and do change to grow in love of each other for God
    • I cannot not expect anything from her that I don’t expect from myself for her
    • I must be able to and do make her happier
    • if she’s not fully happy, she must be at least content without being in a relationship with someone
    • she must be independent enough to be secure in herself
    • she takes care of herself spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally
    • she must understand the challenges in the world and the Church; if not she must naturally want to learn about it and do something about it
    • she has high standards but recognizes she is not perfect and thus able to love me with my imperfections
    • I must be compatible with her family, if not there must be some strong alternative support structure for her and me
    • we have compatible love languages
    • be equal in the relationship
    • mutual respect
    • mutually help each other get to heaven
    • someone I can laugh and play with; best friends
    • someone who wishes to be a mother
    • healthy relationships will have conflicts; must be able to resolve conflicts without totally warping each others sense of self-worth; i.e. there is inherent trust each other has each others’ best interests
  • Be passionate
    • if you are with the most amazing person in the world, i.e. Jesus, Mary, or your wife/girlfriend, why not be passionate?

TIPS

  • Allow for intimacy: respect, trust, communication, no yelling
  • Protect her emotionally
  • Make her feel safe
  • In a relationship, spiritual journey needs to be together
  • Add communication to decision making process
  • Reflective Listening

 

Leave a comment

Concepts, Methodology, Principles (revision 7)

Concepts and Methodology:

  • Start with Why
    • Beauty, Vision, Goals
    • Grace
    • Humility to see what God wants you to see; see yourself as God sees you, looking at the bigger picture
  • Focusing on the Human Person – 5 Love Languages
    • Concepts of completeness/Seeing the big picture – I want to give you the best, I want to give you my all
    • Knowing thyself
  • Wisdom – seeing God in everything, looking at the bigger picture and the meaning of real education
    • The Trinity is in everything
    • Since God is Love, the 5 Love Languages are in everything
    • Seeing Truth in everything – the value in cross-discipline principles
    • Deriving meaning from relationships
  • Learn from the experts yet know that since you can’t know everything, they cannot know everything either
  • Wheel of life
  • GTD – a system that allows you to be more in the present, free of “open loops”
    • Review
  • Mindsweeping
  • Mindmapping
  • Atomic transactions

Principles used to create this Manual:

  • Supernatural Ideas:
    • Humility
    • Truth
    • Love
    • Meekness
    • Trust
    • Beauty
    • Gratefulness
    • Joy
    • Faith, Hope, Charity
    • Magnanimity
    • Mary – wisdom is seeing everything in Love, should we not see everything in the eyes of Mary?  Mary, crown of God’s creation, model of whom we should desire to become
    • Time & the present
  • Supernatural and Natural Models:
    • Catholicism:
      • Jesus:
        • The Eucharist
        • The greatest 2 commandments
        • Love and the cross
        • Suffering
      • Dominican Order:
        • Dedication to the Truth
        • you cannot give what you don’t have
        • I assimilate truth though many sources using the principle “find truth where it exists” so while some sources are secular I consider them as an attempt by natural means do discover truth.  I believe the supernatural as described by the Catholic Church trumps systems derived though natural, humanistic means e.g. truths of the Catholic faith trump those attempts to discover truth through psychology.  Psychology can be an imperfect means to describe phenomenons.  There’s more humility in accepting that mysteries exist but it’s ok to attempt describing it and derive meaning.
      • Miles Christi:
        • The greater glory of God
        • Mediations:
      • Cursillo
      • Theology of the Body
    • Philosophy:
      • Logic
      • Socratic Method
      • The intellect, the passions, and the will
    • Leadership:
      • Leaders keep little promises
    • Psychology:
      • Boundaries
      • 12 Steps
      • Cross Generational Disease
      • Completeness
      • HALT
    • Theory vs Practice and the value of experience:
      • Wisdom vs Knowledge
      • My Experiences
    • Mathematics and Computer Science:
      • Agile methodologies
      • Optimization
      • Debugging
    • Martial Arts:
    • History:
      • Contemporary problems
  • Supernatural Means:
    • Prayer & Adoration, Meditations, Novenas, Sacramentals:
      • the importance of mystery
    • The Little Way:
      • My personal affirmations:
        • Let it be done to me according to your word
        • Fiat Voluntas Tua
        • Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
        • Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine
        • St Joseph, Light of Patriarchs, Terror of demons, Guardian of the Holy Family, protect me in all dangers
        • Mary, Most Pure, Mother of God, who makes the Love of Jesus real to me, show thyself to be my mother
        • All for Jesus, all through Mary, in imitation of you St Joseph
        • Jesus we adore you, Mary we implore you, Joseph Most Just, in you we place our trust
    • Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Anne

Guidelines:

  • Since the average human mind can only clearly hold 7 plus or minus 2 ideas in their mind, it seems to effectively apply the information learned, it needs to fit into 9 ideas
  • if we focus on each idea each with its own 9 ideas, the core of the information is a magic matrix of 81 points; it’s silly to think all the mystery and greatness of the universe can fit into 81 points but I’d like to think the system of how to live and organize your life can be communicated in 81 points
  • to leave room for mystery and engraining in our mind, sub points can be 12 points – a balance of what can be controlled (by cognitively fitting in our mind) and what cannot be controlled (at least in part due to us not being fully able to cognitively fit it in to our mind)
  • I’ll use Dunbar’s number to limit the number of references I’ll list so you can be more effective at practicing what I give you.  Holiness is not about knowing everything in the encyclopedia, on some level it is about practicing core points well
  • Everything should fit on on page that isn’t too long; there can be links but it should not be more than 3 levels deep
  • Everything is a gift from God, I’ll use the format of the Trinity to “re-gift” God’s gift: Piety (Heart, recognizing Mystery and Beauty), Study (Mind, diving deeper into why), Action (Body, infusing both into something practical and can touch people)
  • For the most part, I’ll avoid mentioning too much of the wisdom I’ve learned (I have my own set of principles, collections of my personal experiences, quotes, lessons I’ve learned, etc).  These are very special to me and I don’t want it to take away from my capacity to be intimate with you.  (see 7 levels of intimacy).  Be with me in person and I can share this with you.  These nuggets of wisdom are for you to discover from the foundation I provide.  I don’t want to take away from the grace and God’s plan for you


 

Leave a comment