Ruth Institute Blog

Remind yourself that you are not required to believe what your spouse says.

This tip comes from the section in Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse’s “101 Tips for a Happier Marriage: You can improve your marriage even if your spouse doesn’t change a bit” titled Handling Negative Information about yourself. I believe it would also fit well in Winning is for Losers. A wise woman named Kimberly Hahn once pointed out that sometimes, especially in the heat of an argument, people say things they don’t really mean. Try not to take it personally when you know they’re not really being themselves. It’s like when you take a picture of someone just as they sneeze or yawn. The picture comes out terrible and you say, “It doesn’t do him justice.” Sometimes what he says doesn’t do him, or you, justice.

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