{"id":10918,"date":"2019-07-08T06:00:30","date_gmt":"2019-07-08T10:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=10918"},"modified":"2019-07-05T07:45:49","modified_gmt":"2019-07-05T11:45:49","slug":"10-ways-improve-rlationship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2019\/07\/10-ways-improve-rlationship.html","title":{"rendered":"10 Ways to Improve Your Relationship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10920\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2019\/07\/girl-4256546_1920-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"girl-4256546_1920\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/>Its easy to complain about another person and much harder to work on ourselves. When you really think about what you can do to make a relationship better, it usually comes down to you making changes. So I&#8217;ve come up with 10 things you can do to improve your relationship. Read through the list. One of two or all of them may speak to you.<\/p>\n<p>1) Don\u2019t make assumptions about the person or situation. It is easy to assume and not ask, about perceptions, motivations or reactions. When we do make assumptions, we are often wrong. Even when you know someone very well, you can still get it wrong. Ask, don&#8217;t assume.<\/p>\n<p>2) Don\u2019t take it personally when conflict comes up. Stay positive and believe the person is trying to work through problems. Conflict is normal in a relationship. Learn on to handle its that when it comes, problems are resolved.<\/p>\n<p>3) Don\u2019t blame or criticize. Blame and criticism are the beginning of a downward turn in a relationship. Discuss your concerns but lose the blame. Focus on the positives, not the criticism.<\/p>\n<p>4) Don\u2019t avoid problems and hope they magically work out. Avoidance may work temporarily but is not a good strategy to deepen intimacy. Confront issues.<\/p>\n<p>5) Go after the problem or behavior, not the person\u2019s character. It&#8217;s easy to attack someone when we disagree or have conflict. But a focus on the person versus the problem will bring defensiveness and negative feelings.<\/p>\n<p>6) Keep conflict between the people it involves. Don\u2019t\u00a0triangulate others into your issues. Go directly to the person who is involved and work it out with them.<\/p>\n<p>7) Work out your problems in private, not in public. While it might be tempting to impulsively address a personal issue in public, this is not a good idea. You don&#8217;t need an audience, only the person involved. Keep it private.<\/p>\n<p>8) Don\u2019t bring up problems when you don\u2019t have the time to deal with them. This is frustrating to a relationship. Timing is important. Choose a time to bring up an issue that allows for plenty of discussion and reflection. Don&#8217;t do it when someone is tired, distracted or overly stressed.<\/p>\n<p>9) Wait to discuss issues when you are calm and not upset. Not when you are upset, angry, not feeling well or especially irritated. Conflict goes much bette when we are rested and emotionally controlled.<\/p>\n<p>10) Keep your private problems off social media or email&#8211; deal with them in person with the people involved. It&#8217;s humiliating and embarrassing when people chose to put their personal problems for the world to see. Do your friend, partner or family member a favor and talk to them directly. Nothing gets solved on social media.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Its easy to complain about another person and much harder to work on ourselves. When you really think about what you can do to make a relationship better, it usually comes down to you making changes. So I&#8217;ve come up with 10 things you can do to improve your relationship. Read through the list. One&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[913,914,917],"tags":[4442,4444,4443],"class_list":["post-10918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-couple-relationships","category-family-relationships-2","category-friend-relationships","tag-improve-relationships","tag-make-relationships-better","tag-strengthening-relationships"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>10 Ways to Improve Your Relationship<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2019\/07\/10-ways-improve-rlationship.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 Ways to Improve Your Relationship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Its easy to complain about another person and much harder to work on ourselves. When you really think about what you can do to make a relationship better, it usually comes down to you making changes. So I&#8217;ve come up with 10 things you can do to improve your relationship. Read through the list. One&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2019\/07\/10-ways-improve-rlationship.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-07-08T10:00:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-07-05T11:45:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2019\/07\/girl-4256546_1920-300x200.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"10 Ways to Improve Your Relationship","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2019\/07\/10-ways-improve-rlationship.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"10 Ways to Improve Your Relationship","og_description":"Its easy to complain about another person and much harder to work on ourselves. When you really think about what you can do to make a relationship better, it usually comes down to you making changes. So I&#8217;ve come up with 10 things you can do to improve your relationship. Read through the list. One&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2019\/07\/10-ways-improve-rlationship.html","og_site_name":"Doing Life Together","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","article_published_time":"2019-07-08T10:00:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-07-05T11:45:49+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2019\/07\/girl-4256546_1920-300x200.jpg"}],"author":"Linda Mintle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@drlindamintle","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2019\/07\/10-ways-improve-rlationship.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2019\/07\/10-ways-improve-rlationship.html","name":"10 Ways to Improve Your Relationship","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2019\/07\/10-ways-improve-rlationship.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2019\/07\/10-ways-improve-rlationship.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2019\/07\/girl-4256546_1920-300x200.jpg","datePublished":"2019-07-08T10:00:30+00:00","dateModified":"2019-07-05T11:45:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2019\/07\/10-ways-improve-rlationship.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2019\/07\/10-ways-improve-rlationship.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2019\/07\/10-ways-improve-rlationship.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2019\/07\/girl-4256546_1920-300x200.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2019\/07\/girl-4256546_1920-300x200.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2019\/07\/10-ways-improve-rlationship.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"10 Ways to Improve Your Relationship"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/","name":"Doing Life Together","description":"Relationship Doctor, Mental Health, Emotional Wellness, Relationship Advice &amp; Entertainment","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142","name":"Linda Mintle","description":"It is rare that a trained academic who speaks passionately to the heart of people providing real answers to real life problems is so relatable. Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. Check out her latest book Hope and Healing for Anxiety, a whole-person approach to eliminate anxiety. .","sameAs":["https:\/\/drlindamintle.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/x.com\/drlindamintle"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/author\/lmintle"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10918"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10922,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10918\/revisions\/10922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}