Validation is at the heart of our ability to get along with others and build relational bonds. Validation is the opposite of insulting, dismissing, or belittling. Age does not matter. People of all ages need validation. It's how we find our place in the world. Listen to this week's podcast to see how important it is for people to feel understood, seen, and heard. The act of validation increases trust and builds lasting relationships. 

How do you tell if someone's criticism or complaints about you are your problems or theirs? Listen to this episode, and for a refresher on criticism and feedback, listen to Episode 36. There are a few things you can do to increase understanding and communication around this issue in your relationships. 

Having self-awareness helps you understand other people and how they view you and your actions. Many people assume that self-awareness comes easily and naturally, however, it can be pretty hard, and can be improved. With practice, however, you can learn to increase your emotional intelligence and self-knowledge and find new ways to interpret your thoughts, actions, feelings, and conversations that you have with other people. Listen to this week's podcast and I will AGAIN talk about the importance of this trait. Check out the links for ways for individuals, couples and families to increase their self awareness.

We're Not Really Strangers

Our Moments Families

33 Self-Awareness Activities for Adults and Students

There is a lot going on in the world. Your kids need to feel that you can be there for them no matter what. They have their own relationships to deal with, friendships that are difficult, school stress, and access to a lot of distressing news and information. It is your job to help give them space to vent, receive feedback and advice, and trust that you can handle what they cannot. Listen to this week's podcast and you will hear Lindsay, Regan, and I talk through this issue. 

Big Little Feelings 

Dr. Becky Kennedy Instagram

Love and Logic

It would be impossible for me to express in words what you can only experience by engaging in mindfulness practice. So this week, I'm at it again. With a bit of new information and some reinforcement of some old, I am desperate to get you all to start practicing mindfulness. Please. Please. Please.

All relationships have conflict. Conflict does not make a relationship bad. The purpose of conflict is to gain a greater understanding of your partner. This podcast about understanding is about working to understand another person. Listen and I'll give strategies and things you can do to give your spouse the gift of understanding them. Using the idea of assumption of similarity and a speaker/listener format for drawing out information, you can gain a greater understanding to make conflict more manageable. 

Conflict Blueprint

Despite the important role it plays in relationships, understanding does not have to be imperative in all interactions. Sometimes our need for understanding is connecting and helps move our relationships into more safety and security. Other times, a need to be understood is an example of our inability to hold boundaries. Occasionally our inability to understand is because we aren't doing the work of gathering information. Listen to this week's podcast to see why we really can't understand each other, and what your role is as a person in relationships. 

What is the difference between hedonia and eudaimonia? What is a happiness set-point? How does my set-point affect my ability to be happy? Can happiness be pursued? Listen to this week's podcast for answers to these questions and more. 

The Hedonic Treadmill - Are we Forever Chasing Rainbows?

How to measure happiness: hedonia vs. eudaimonia

In a world where the focus on happiness is growing and science is teaching us new things about how to create lasting happiness, it's time to learn what happiness means. The science helps us understand what happy people do differently, and how we can feel happier even when things feel overwhelming.

What Happy People Know by Dan Baker

The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living by Russ Harris

">The Happiness Lab Podcast

According to James Clear, there are three levels of behavior change; the first is changing your outcomes, the second is changing your process, and the third is changing your identity. Perhaps you have habits you want to change regarding your relationships. Listen to this week's podcast to see how these two topics relate to one another.