Are you struggling to keep a healthy relationship?
The struggle is real when it comes to maintaining healthy relationships. We all have our moments where we are exhausted, stressed, or annoyed dealing with other people. No one ever said that relationships were easy! Keeping the fire alive is hard work. But there are ways to keep your bonds strong! If you feel like your relationship is not working out as well as it should be, don’t worry because our special guest today will share some of her wisdom to help you find and maintain a healthy relationship.
Friends, welcome back to The School of Greatness. Today’s guest is a psychotherapist and a podcast host, Lori Gottlieb. That’s right, we’re back with part two of a two-part series. The first episode was so powerful that I just couldn’t stop the interview because I wanted to keep our conversation going. This is the second part of the interview, so if you haven’t checked out part one yet, make sure to go check it out because these are both incredible episodes.
In this interview, we discussed the biggest red flags to look out for in relationships. We also talked about how to improve your trust and communication with your partner, the key things healthy relationships have in common, and so much more. It’s an incredible interview about relationships, so buckle up and let the class begin.
Who Is Lori Gottlieb?
Lori Gottlieb is a New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, which has sold more than a million copies worldwide and is presently being adapted as a television series for ABC. The book comes with a companion tool kit, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: The Workbook, which aims to help you change your life stories for the better so you can move forward and heal.
“I’ve always been drawn to stories — not just what happens, but how the story is told.” – Lori Gottlieb
As a psychotherapist and writer, Lori believes that our stories create the core of our lives — giving them deeper meaning — and stories are a way of telling others, “This is who I am. Can you understand me?” She blends her clinical experience with the latest cultural developments and research to help improve the lives of people.
Lori Gottlieb is also a TED speaker, and her TED Talk on “How Changing Your Story Can Change Your Life” gained more than 5 million views. She has appeared in several interviews on various popular media platforms, like CNN, Good Morning America, Dr. Phil, CBS This Morning, The Today Show, and NPR. She also appears weekly in the Dear Therapist column for The Atlantic. In this episode, Lori gave us a glimpse of her bestselling book about relationships and warns us about red flags to watch out for.
The Biggest Red Flags Women Should Look for When Entering a Relationship
When you enter into a relationship, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of it all. You might not even notice the warning signs right in front of you until it’s too late. There are some things to look out for when entering any kind of relationship, and Lori shared some of the biggest ones:
Forgetting to Listen to the Voice Within You
We all have this little voice within us that is wise and full of knowledge. We just need to learn how to listen to it. Sometimes we can be so busy with our lives, sometimes we are scared of what our little voice has to say, but whatever the reason may be, most people forget about their inner wisdom. The voice within you is very important because it’s your gut feeling, your intuition, and it can save you from making a terrible mistake or hurtful decision.
“We all have [voices] inside of us that get drowned out by all the noise out there. The bigger voice is like, ‘I really want this to work out.’ … And I really feel like, ‘You know, what happens if I give this up? What if I don’t find somebody?’ — Those are those really loud voices. There might be this really quiet voice that says, ‘I don’t think this person is the right person for me,’ Or, ‘I don’t really trust this person,’ or, ‘This person isn’t really as stable as I would like, … and I don’t like that.” – Lori Gottlieb
Sometimes the inner voices within you have conflicting ideas, leading you to seek help from other people such as your friends. In the end, you end up listening to the voices of others and forgetting your own gut feeling and intuition. While it’s good to get advice from friends, it’s still best to talk with your partner if there are issues in your relationship.
“So I think we all have this place of knowing it’s not your friend’s opinion. … I think your friends have all these opinions and then we try to like crowdsource — … you don’t have to live that life. People [would] say like, ‘Leave the guy, he’s trash. Leave him.’ And it’s like, you don’t have to live this person’s life. This person might have really good reasons why the affair didn’t break the marriage.” – Lori Gottlieb
When it comes to decisions, it’s always a battle between what people are saying against your inner voice. But you must always remember that the voices of others are only meant to guide us as we listen to our inner voice.
Don’t Broadcast to Your Friends If Someone Has an Affair
It’s easy to be angry and hurt when you find out your spouse has been cheating. The pain is well-deserved, but if you want a happy marriage, don’t broadcast it to all your friends. If the person who cheated is truly sorry for hurting you, this will only anger them and make them think that they can continue in the same vein. It may seem like a good idea at the time because it feels better to share with others who will understand how bad it hurts, but in reality, that just spreads distrust where there should only be love from both sides.
“When someone has an affair, don’t go telling 12 of your friends right away. You need to process this — maybe go to a therapist. So, process this, but don’t go telling like 12 people, and don’t broadcast it. And don’t go on social media about this because you might actually find that you love this person and want to stay with this person, … and they (your friends) will not understand what happened. … Yes, they’re responsible for having the affair, but they’re not necessarily responsible for all the other factors that are going into this.” – Lori Gottlieb
It may feel good at the moment to tell the world and broadcast to your friends how your partner cheated on you, but this only closes the door to future reconciliation. If you truly value your relationship, give yourself enough time to process everything. Seek help from relationship experts to assist you in paving the path to forgiveness and the repair process. Don’t give up on your relationship just because of one mistake. When you look back at the many good things the person did in the past, you may realize that the relationship is still worth keeping and deserves to have another chance.
