Relationships Articles

There's no doubt that meaningful relationships bring happiness into our lives. Although at times, they can also bring sorrow and frustration. Leaning how to be happy with oneself is crucial in building health relationships with others which ultimately bring happiness into our lives.

31 Quotes About Love to Ignite Your Relationship

by Jared Akers

quotes about love

We were married on a beach. It was amazing.

Our wedding service consisted of Emily and myself, our wedding official Caroline, and about a dozen chickens. As part of our service, Caroline read something that would be the foundation of our life together.

Your “homework” is to practice an ancient Sufi tradition: In your life together, speak words to your beloved only if they can pass through 3 gates: First, is it truthful? Second, is it necessary? Third, is it kind? If your words are truthful & necessary & kind, then the love you have maintained up until today will be nourished and continue to grow & your name will continue to remain safe in your beloved’s mouth.

Love for self first and foremost is the Secret to Love that Lasts.

Sometimes love is hard to put into words. Here are 31 quotes about love that will inspire your relationship: [Read more…]

The Pain and Joy of Discovering Who You Are (and are not)

by Jared Akers

discovering who you are

I was standing outside talking to a few friends when she came up and asked, “would you like to catch a movie?”

Quickly my mind started racing, I needed to come up with an excuse. It’s not that I didn’t want to hang out with her so much, I honestly just wanted to get home and relax.

“Sorry,” I said, “can’t, have groceries in the car and need to get the ice cream home.”

“What kind?” she asked.

“What?” I responded, as my brain needed a few milliseconds to come up with a flavor.

“What kind of ice cream?”

“Oh, rocky road.”

On my drive home I felt guilty, so I dropped by the store and picked up a pint of rocky road. And it occurred to me that I lied for no logical reason. I lied simply because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

In that moment a rush of memories flooded my consciousness; every time I’d ever lied to someone for no other reason than I didn’t want to hurt their feelings. I didn’t want to hurt their feelings because I needed them to like me. [Read more…]

HTBH 026: Should You Marry Him or Her?

by Jared Akers

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In this episode, Jared and Emily ask the question: Should You Marry Him or Her? and other topics such as:

Dating versus marriage behavior
How the person your dating treats others
Do they have jobs and friends
Do they have secrets

Marriage is an important decision (obviously) but it’s not always easy to know if you’re doing the right thing.

In my first marriage, my gut told me something was wrong. I felt it even as I stood at the alter.

Deep inside I knew it didn’t feel right; but we often dismiss these feelings (as I did). Chalk them up to wedding day jitters.

That’s not to say that many marriages don’t make it the distance with uncertainty on their wedding day.

The best advice both Emily and I could give on “should you marry him/or her” is; how well do you know yourself?

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HTBH 025: How to Determine if You’re in a Healthy Relationship

by Jared Akers

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Last week in episode 24, Emily and I discussed communication exercises. As part of that research, I came across a list of ways to determine if you’re in a healthy relationship. In this episode we discuss these topics and what they mean to us.

How do you determine you are in a healthy relationship? [Read more…]

HTBH 023: Relationships, Setting the Rules on How You’re Treated

by Jared Akers

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Whether you realize it or not, you’re setting the rules on how you’re treated. In this episode of the How To Be Happy Podcast, Emily and I talk about this theory and what this means in regards to the relationships we find ourselves in.

Following are a couple of quotes and passages that bring some light to this topic:

“No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt

[Read more…]