Why Relationships Matter

Take our Can You Spot Red Flags In A Relationship?

Find a therapist to strengthen relationships

There is great value in focusing on what is right in your relationship as a road to focusing on what is wrong.

Research finds that positivity "builds and broadens" relationships.

Gottman finds that the key to a happy marriage is a "magic ratio" of five positives to one negative response.

One of the biggest traps for couples is the belief that they have to deal with what is wrong with their relationship before they access what is right.

When a couple’s relationship has been sapped of vitality by resentments, hidden disappointments, lack of affection, and feelings of rejection, they know the script of pain and put-downs.

What they can’t access is enough positive momentum to remember why and how to feel loving and loved again.

Positivity, which was coined by Barbara Fredrickson, is a broad term that includes the feelings and meanings generated when love, joy, gratitude, fascination, openness, kindness, laughter, flexibility, appreciation, and teamwork are shared and experienced.

Resetting a relationship with positivity does not mean denial of life’s problems or minimizing past events, it means setting in motion a dynamic that has been found to "broaden and build" the capacity to succeed and flourish.

Positivity broadens an individual’s “momentary thought-action repertoire.” Whether fueled through play, enjoyable activities, or expressions of........

© Psychology Today