Happy Couples

In every relationship, partners continually make “bids” for one another’s attention, closeness, and reassurance through comments, questions, and gestures.

In successful marriages, spouses respond positively to these bids *86% of the time. That means you could totally miss 14% of the opportunities presented and still be pretty happy! How cool is that?

  • Through their words and/or their actions, they invite more connection.
  • That is, they communicate (with or without words):
    • “You matter to me.”
    • “I want to connect with you, too.”

In fact, successful couples make at least 20 (yes, twenty) positive remarks for every 1 (one) negative remark! If you do the math, that means 95% of their words are positive. Who saw that coming?

A tender answer turns away rage,
    but a prickly reply spikes anger. PROVERBS 15:1

To respond to a matter before you hear about it
    shows foolishness and brings shame. PROVERBS 18:13