Lasting Love Connection

10/20/2025

Top 3 Things Couples Argue About Most

10/16/2025

Decades of research in emotional intelligence — led by psychologist Daniel Goleman — shows that great leaders consistently exhibit three distinct kinds of empathy.

Most of us think of empathy as simply understanding someone. It’ not, its a set of three clearly defined types of empathy

Goleman’s work reminds us that empathy isn’t one thing — it’s a set of skills that help us connect, influence, and care more effectively.

Here are the 3 kinds of empathy he and other relarional and leadership expert have identified:

1️⃣ Cognitive Empathy:
Understanding someone’s world model — their unique mental map of how life works.
This includes how they use words, how they relate to objects, spirituality, people, and history on a mental level.

2️⃣ Emotional Empathy:
Feeling what another person feels, even when it’s not our natural way of sensing the world.
This is all about someone’s emotions, body sensations, and how they feel as they engage and interact with the world.

3️⃣ Empathic Concern:
Once we understand someone’s pain, worry, or stress — we feel moved to help.
(My wife is incredible at this one.)

When a leader can bring all three to their team, they speak each person’s language — helping people feel seen, safe, and motivated.

That’s how unity and trust are built.

And honestly, the same applies beautifully to couples.

Because what is marriage, if not a more intense version of every other relationship?

And what is leadership, if not love in action — the ability to see, feel, and care in ways that bring out the best in others?

10/14/2025

10/13/2025

Statistically, there’s a 20–25% chance you’ll experience an affair — either by being unfaithful or being betrayed yourself.

Cheat-proofing your relationship starts long before that happens.

Tip #1: Make time for hard talks.
The kind where you share what’s bothering or hurting you — not just the easy stuff.
Dr. Shirley Glass, one of the leading researchers on affair recovery, found that couples who have affairs consistently avoid confronting issues.

When we avoid tough conversations, resentment builds — and that emotional distance is where affairs begin long before they actually happen.

Tip #2: Learn to share your inner world.
True intimacy is about being known — sharing your fears, dreams, and desires.

Glass found that couples who experience infidelity often struggled to reveal their true selves even before the affair happened.

In my 18.7 yrs working with couples i can say confidently this is always true.

So talk. Be curious. Ask questions to get to know your partner. Be vulnerable.
Love is to be seen and known.

Do these two things, and you’ll make your relationship far more resistant to infidelity.

❤️ If you want a stronger relationship, follow this page and leave a comment to support our work helping couples grow closer.

10/07/2025

Most couples think the spark fades with time—but it doesn’t have to.

Research by Dr. Helen Fisher found that doing new and novel things together activates the same parts of the brain as new love.

It’s not about spending more time together—it’s about creating new experiences together.

Try something you’ve never done as a couple and watch the chemistry return.

10/01/2025

We often assume “better communication” is the key to relationship health. But research shows that what couples really need is the ability to regulate conflict before it spirals into fight-flight-freeze.

Even one big blowup can create long-term insecurity and erode trust.

In this video, I discuss why conflicts escalate so quickly, and the first step that helps partners prevent destructive fights while building a foundation of emotional safety.

09/30/2025

Why love feels unsafe even after fights end — and why you can’t fully relax with your partner.

09/29/2025

Repeated threats of divorce or separation are one of the hallmark signs of an insecure relationship.

Attachment researchers define insecurity as a lack of safety and predictability in the bond.

When every argument escalates to “I’m leaving,” it’s less about the topic at hand and more about an underlying fear of abandonment, or anxiety that you two can’t heal or resolve issues.

The problem with incessant threats and escalations for divorce — it makes things worse. It leads couples into very insecure attachments with each other.

09/24/2025

When your partner says “you don’t value me” or “you don’t like me,” most people instinctively explain or rationalize. The problem? Logic rarely calms an activated nervous system.

What works instead is reflective listening — showing your partner you get what they’re feeling, even if you don’t agree with their perspective. It’s not about talking like a therapist; it’s about making your partner feel seen, safe, and connected.

This same principle applies in leadership, teamwork, and personal relationships: when emotions are high, people need connection before correction.

09/22/2025

Most relationship problems aren’t new. They’re repetitive.

Couples often argue about the same few issues again and again—money, chores, s*x, parenting, in-laws. Remove those patterns and most couples would say their relationship is great.

The problem? They try to fix these recurring issues with the wrong tools—problem-solving strategies that only work for straightforward, solvable problems.

But with repetitive issues—what researchers call “unsolvable problems”—a different approach is needed. Instead of pushing harder to win the argument, the real breakthrough comes when one partner drops their guard and offers empathy, even if they don’t agree.

When empathy is met with empathy, these “unsolvable” problems stop being battles. They become gateways to healing, resolution, and deeper connection.

09/16/2025

Happy couples don’t hide their pasts — they embrace it together.

The better you know your partner — the better you can love and care for all of them.

09/12/2025

I’ve often read that how we start something sets the tone for how it will unfold.

The Gottman Institute discovered that the first three minutes of a “tough discussion” between partners can predict—with 96% accuracy—where that couple will be in six years.

The same is true in dating.

How we begin the initial courtship offers strong clues about the long-term health of the relationship. Researchers have even found that how couples navigate s*xual intimacy early on strongly correlates with the strength and stability of their future marriage (or long-term commitment).

In other words, the way we start matters—whether it’s in conversations, relationships, or commitments.