257.Relationship Love with Greg and Deb

257.Relationship Love with Greg and Deb Deborah Johnson 33:16

After almost 44 years of marriage, Greg and I have a few things to say about relationship love! Relationships are far from perfect and ours is definitely in that camp. However, we have learned and grown through the years and find ourselves appreciating each other more now than ever. These are five principles we apply regularly for our relationship that also apply to most every professional relationship:

RESPECT We started noticing couples that seem happy treat each other well and ones that are struggling disrespected each other. The tone of voice used in private and public situations is a decision that each one of us makes. It’s a It’s a decision to not degrade or downgrade the other person’s feelings or opinion.

LISTENING One of the best phrases we have learned is “What I hear you say is…” This opens the door of communication that lets the other person know they are being listened to and heard. The temptation is to ‘hurl’ comments back and forth that can be hurtful and cause your partner to shut down emotionally. We’ve all made that mistake!

TRUST Trust is critical for deep conversations to happen. Without it, resentment, bitterness and loss of respect is the result. Trust is crucial in the area of finances and is usually one of the largest areas of conflict in a relationship.

FORGIVENESS It’s easy to hold a grudge for a long period of time if there is no forgiveness in a relationship. The ability to laugh at ourselves as well as with each other is healthy. The Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey has a good chapter on ‘Relationship Trust’ that is worth reading.

TIME (LOVE LANGUAGE) The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman is a classic book on communication and contains intrinsic truth and wisdom for communication styles. The five love languages are words of affirmation, acts of service, gifts, time and physical touch. We have taken the time to discover what is of value for each of us and this has deepened our appreciation and love for each other through the years. Many people’s definition of love hasn’t grown since the teen years and we are here to say it’s worth hanging on and growing together because when applying basic principles of respect, trust and forgiveness, it just gets better! Full article with song “What is Love” by Deborah Johnson here: https://goalsforyourlife.com/what-is-love

Deborah Johnson Podcaster

Up for multiple GRAMMY Awards and spending over 20 years in the entertainment industry, Deborah Johnson, M.A., built multiple self-driven businesses. While many discuss career transitions and achieving success in a second act, few offer comprehensive guidance on leveraging automated content with core values and purpose. She is an expert on how to constantly reinvent yourself in a gig-economy, working mainly with those at mid-career and halftime of life. A creative powerhouse, she has released multiple books, albums, published hundreds of songs, has a thriving podcast and has written three musicals. Deborah speaks and performs for both live and virtual events.