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trading places Archives - SYMBIS Assessment

Nov 08
Love0

My Spouse’s Friends Make Me Feel Bad About Myself. How Do I Handle It?

By Conflict, Relationships 3 Comments

Do your spouse’s friends make you feel bad about yourself? It’s incredibly painful when your spouse’s friends belittle, make fun of you, or otherwise treat you in a way that makes you feel inferior. Not only is it wrong of them; it hurts when your spouse doesn’t seem to notice how you’re feeling. So how are you supposed to handle this situation? Friendship dynamics that make you feel badly about yourself must be addressed between you and your spouse. If this situation is left to fester unresolved, it will continue to erode your self-worth. Ultimately, it will negatively impact your…

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Aug 09
Love0

Emotional Needs in Marriage: What’s Most Important?

By Marriage No Comments

Everyone has emotional needs. For each of us, those come down to a few top needs that are most important to us. With those emotional needs unmet, it’s difficult for us to walk in our spouse’s shoes. Because emotional needs are highly important, which ones should you prioritize first? Which emotional needs are the most important–yours or your spouse’s? That answer isn’t one-size-fits-all. You can do a few things to determine which needs to meet first in any given situation. Want to know more? Let’s jump right into it. Know Your Own Top Emotional Needs It isn’t easy to articulate…

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Aug 02
Love0
Career Roundup: Practical Advice for Married Professionals

Career Roundup: Practical Advice for Married Professionals

By Careers One Comment

Career growth and development is important for many married couples today. It’s likely that you and your spouse are both interested in growing both personally and professionally. Luckily, being married means you can be each other’s cheerleader and biggest fan along the way. Today, we’ve gathered some of our best career resources from the blog. Whether you’re setting priorities for the near future or navigating a career crisis, there are helpful tips for you here. We’re covering a variety of situations and solutions, so read on. Encourage Each Other’s Professional Growth First and foremost, it’s crucial to support one another’s…

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Jun 29
Love0

Listening 101: Tips to Help You Better Hear Your Spouse

By Communication 2 Comments

A common theme in marital conflict is the idea that one or both spouses don’t feel heard. Has your spouse ever told you that you’re not hearing them? If so, there are some things you can do to help them know that you’re listening–or that you’re working to understand where they’re coming from. It’s frustrating to hear that your spouse feels unheard or misunderstood, especially if you’re doing your best from one day to the next. However, it’s possible for effective communication to break down before either of you realize what has happened. The good news is, it’s possible to…

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Aug 12
Love0

Deeper Empathy in Marriage: What’s the Secret?

By Communication, Marriage 3 Comments

In marriage, it’s crucial to be able to empathize with one another. We like to think about it as trading places–taking a walk in one another’s shoes. Empathy is the key to a happy, successful marriage…but what is the key to empathy? We like to think of self-awareness as the number one secret to achieving empathy in marriage. Being aware of your own emotions, and able to look at them objectively, allows you to step outside yourself and pay closer attention to what your spouse is feeling or going through. When you lack self-awareness of your emotional state, you get…

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Jun 24
Love0

How to Back Your Empathy with Action

By Marriage, Relationships 3 Comments

Empathy is more than just taking an internal walk in your partner’s shoes. Instead, real empathy requires action. Without action, empathy won’t go very far in your relationship. As James D. Parker said, “Empathy alone matters little if we fail to act.” Empathy is transformative. It helps us see, hear, and understand one another like nothing else. And, when properly cultivated, it inspires action. We must back our empathy with action if we want to show our spouses how much we truly love them. So how can we back our empathy with action? Let’s dive in. 1. Set aside your…

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Dec 04
Love5

3 Reasons Why You Should Walk in Your Spouse’s Shoes

By Communication, Conflict, Marriage, Relationships 8 Comments

In marriage, it’s not always obvious what our spouse needs. It’s not always obvious to them what we need, either. One way to get in better touch with each other’s needs is to cultivate empathy. To create more empathy in our marriages, we need to first walk in each other’s shoes. A simple way to do that is what we call trading places. Simply put, trading places means you picture things from your spouse’s perspective. It helps you get in tune with one another, or reconnect if you’ve drifted apart. Everyone needs to check in with their empathy from time…

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Nov 06
Love11

3 Core Truths for Successful Communication

By Communication 10 Comments

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs. – Ephesians 4:29 The happiest of couples don’t rely solely on communication rules, their secret lies in understanding that good communication is built first on who you are – and only later on what you do. Simply put, successful communication starts with good personal qualities. You can read articles and books, attend workshops, and see counselors who will teach you about communication skills. But if you fail to focus on the qualities you possess as a…

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Oct 23
Love7

Five Ways to Encourage Your Spouse to Be Empathetic

By Communication, Marriage, Relationships 5 Comments

It’s no secret that empathy takes work. It’s all too common in relationships for spouses to feel a lack of empathy from each other. If you feel like your spouse isn’t seeing an important part of you, then it’s time to walk in each other’s shoes. Learning how to see all sides of your spouse will mean a great deal to your relationship! How can you encourage your spouse to be more empathetic? Today, we are sharing tips that have proven helpful for couples who are trying to encourage their spouse to become more empathetic. 1. Share Your Highs and…

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Mar 06
Love2

Balancing Your Head and Heart: What to Do If You Are a Sympathizer

By Communication, Marriage, Self Reflection 5 Comments

“Our nervous systems are constructed to be captured by the nervous systems of others, so that we can experience others as if from within their skin.” – Daniel Stern Are you a natural sympathizer? If you answered yes, you likely find yourself rushing to the aid of your spouse, or others, when they are in need. Or, at least when you think they are in need. But are they? People with sympathetic personalities are much more inclined to let their feelings guide them than others. Their hearts take precedence over their heads. In certain situations, this is a very valuable…

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