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save marriage

The Differences Between Happy and Hurting Marriages
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

What is the difference between a happy and a hurting marriage?  4 differences that don’t matter and 4 that do.Marriages start at the same place:  two people in love, ready to face the world together.  And most believe they have already beaten the odds.  Their love is “the real thing,” enduring and lasting.  It won’t fall apart like those other marriages.  They have already won.

Except they haven’t.

Some marriages keep on moving forward, resolute and solid, loving and supportive.  But many hit an inflection point. They go from happy to hurting.

And many times, they can’t find their way back… mostly because they don’t know what the difference was; what made the difference between happy and hurting.

Interestingly, most people name differences that don’t make a difference between happy and hurting.  What they assume makes a difference, doesn’t.

Instead, there are 4 differences that do matter.  And here is what is important:  they can be changed.  Once you understand the 4 differences between a hurting and happy marriage, you can shift toward happy.  They are learnable skills, once identified.

Listen below for the 4 differences that don’t matter and the 4 differences that do.  They make the difference between happy and hurting.

RELATED RESOURCES:
The Power of Commitment
The Importance of Connection
What About Communication?
The Save The Marriage System

Marriage Wrecker: Disconnection
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

A marriage wrecker is disconnection.  Disconnection can eat away at the foundations of your marriage, creating a vicious cycle, leading to relational collapse.Your marriage is hurting.  Why?  What happened?  What wrecked your marriage?

In the last podcast episode, I discussed how expectations can wreck a marriage.

But unfortunately, there are some other issues and concerns that can wreck your marriage.  This week’s Marriage Wrecker is right at the top of the list.

In fact, it is a recurring theme in my work with couples.  After discussing it in several coaching sessions in the last few days, I thought it was a good topic for an episode of the Save The Marriage Podcast.

What is connection?  What is DISconnection… and why does it happen?  We start there.  We discuss how connection is the life-blood of your relationship… and what happens when it gets squeezed off… often for what seem like good reasons!

The result, though, is the same, even when disconnection is unintentional. (And it almost always is.)

I also cover what to do when you realize the cycle and are ready to break it (what to know and how to approach it, so you don’t get thrown off).

Listen to this important episode below.

RELATED RESOURCES
Danger of Expectations
Connection and Disconnection Resources
Pause Button Marriage
Book:  How To Save Your Marriage In 3 Simple Steps
System:  Save The Marriage

Not Doing or Not Knowing What To Do
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

Every day, I hear from people who are stuck in a marriage crisis.  When I ask them, “what are you doing to work on your marriage?”, their response is:  “Well, not much…. I’m stuck.”

Not doing anything versus not even knowing WHAT to do. Just to clarify, these folks are all wanting to save their marriage.  None want their relationship to just end.  That’s why they are reaching out to me.

HERE IS WHO I AM

They (and probably you) want to save your marriage.  And yet many times, nothing is really happening.  Maybe you’ve already tried something.  But many times, there hasn’t really been any action.

What’s going on here?  Why no action?

Years ago, a health crisis made me take a long look in the mirror.  Did I know that not exercising was not good?  Yep.  Did I know that eating poorly was not good?  Yep.

And still, I didn’t exercise and I didn’t eat well.

Then, my body rebelled.  To the point that I had doctors telling me that I was headed for disability… and eventual death.  That will get your attention!

I was fortunate.  While their diagnosis was correct, the prognosis was not.  I beat the odds and recovered.  Not because I was taking better care of myself.  I just got lucky.

But it got my attention!  I realized that I had to turn things around… before the next crisis came along… one that I could not beat.

So, I started exercising.  I tried to eat better.  I WANTED to get better.  And sure, there was a difference.  I got in better shape.  I was dealing with stress better.  And yes, in some ways, I was eating better.

My weight, though, didn’t shift much.  I kept trying to eat better… but not much changed on the scale.

Yes, I was frustrated.  I kept telling myself I was DOING something.  But really, it was only a minor shift.  Mostly because I did not understand HOW to make a change.

Did I want to lose weight and get into better shape?  Absolutely.  Had I made some progress?  No doubt.  Had anything truly changed?  Nope.  Except now, I was well aware of my plight?  I knew I needed to change.  I just wasn’t doing anything that was going to make a change.

Know why?

I didn’t know how!

Sometimes, we say we want to do something… but we really don’t.  We just think we should want to do it.  But many times, we really do want to make a change… we just lack the know-how.

So, I started researching.  No, I did not want to do the research on how to eat better.  No, I didn’t even want to be an expert in eating better.  But I wanted to FIND the expert… the person who had already done the research.  Then, I could just follow what they had already found.

First stop was the Slow Carb Diet.  It worked.  I lost weight.  But on cheat days, I felt absolutely awful.  So, I dug deeper and found the Paleo approach.  That was like magic.  Since then, I have just been fine-tuning as I find better research.  That has included Keto dieting, Intermittent Fasting, etc.  My body weight?  I’m 6’4”, and weigh 185.  I wear the same pant waist size as in college.  My body fat is around 11%.  Not bad for an almost-54 year old.

Was it because I became an expert?

No.  It was because I found expertise and followed their advice.  I didn’t need to reinvent something.  I just needed to follow something.

What about marriage?

Here is the honest truth:  most people fail in marriage because nobody told them what marriage was really about.

HERE IS A TRAINING ON WHAT MARRIAGE IS REALLY ABOUT

And even if you might have some idea of what a marriage is about, what do you do when there is a crisis?  There is no reason for you to know how to deal with a crisis.  We rarely know what to do when something unexpected hits.

What caused the problem?

HERE IS A TRAINING ON WHY MARRIAGES GET INTO TROUBLE

“Sure,” you might say, “things haven’t been the best.  But they weren’t the worst.  Why a crisis now?”

HERE IS A TRAINING ON WHY YOU ARE IN CRISIS NOW

Once the crisis is here, you are likely unprepared on what to do.  So, let me suggest taking a look at my Back To Basics Series.

HERE IS THE BACK TO BASICS SERIES OF TRAINING

Here’s what I know:  you are serious about saving your marriage.  That means you have a desire to save your marriage.  But as we have discussed, wanting to save your marriage is far different than knowing how to save your marriage.

The fact that you are not willing to just give up and walk away is commendable.  It is COURAGEOUS to decide to work on saving a marriage.  Saving your marriage MATTERS.

But here is where the “rubber hits the road.”  Desire to save your marriage is not enough.  You need steps.  You need a plan.

How are your efforts going?  Are you stuck?  Let’s get you through this.

Do you have my Save The Marriage System?

“NO” – Click HERE To GRAB My SAVE THE MARRIAGE SYSTEM

“YES” – Click HERE To LEARN MORE About Coaching Options For MORE HELP

Look, I recognize that saving a marriage can be tough, painful, scary, and frustrating.  As much as you WANT to do it, you have to KNOW HOW to do it.  Otherwise, you will either get stuck because you don’t know what to do or make it worse by doing the wrong thing.

It is too important to stay stuck.  It isn’t your fault that you didn’t know what to do.  But it is up to you to figure it out… for you, your spouse, your marriage, and your family.  So, let’s make sure you have what you need.  Let’s get you “up to speed” and get you moving ahead.

It is always your choice on whether to save your marriage or not.  If you decide to, then the next decision is to find out how.

If you need a System that has been tested and refined for nearly 3 decades, GO HERE TO GRAB MY SAVE THE MARRIAGE SYSTEM.

If you have my System, but still need more help, CHECK OUT MY OTHER RESOURCES HERE.

I’m pulling for you!

Lee Baucom, Ph.D.
Creator of the Save The Marriage System
Author of How To Save Your Marriage In 3 Simple Steps, Recovering From The Affair, Marriage Failpoint, Thrive Principles, The Immutable Laws Of Living, The Forgive Process
Host of Save The Marriage Podcast and Thriveology Podcast

All The Wrong Reasons: Should You Stay Together?
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

Are you staying together for the wrong reasons?We continue with listeners’ questions on the Save The Marriage Podcast.  And in this episode, I pull together a central question about “Should we stay together because of this Insert Bad Reason Here?”

Several people told me they were still married, just for the sake of the kids.  Several told me that their spouse was still there because they could not afford to separate, much less to divorce.  And some told me they stayed married just to avoid having to hit the dating scene.  And then, there is that anxiety of “what will people think?”  So, they stay together.

But is that enough, they ask?  Should they only stay together for these “wrong reasons?”

You can make a perspective shift and use those “wrong reasons” to get you to the right place in your relationship.

I cover 4 ways to get there in this episode of the podcast.

RELATED RESOURCES
Connecting
Changing
Conflict
Convincing – don’t!
Save The Marriage System

 

“Is ‘Trying’ Disrespectful?” – When A Spouse Wants Out
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

"Help!  My spouse said I was disrespecting my spouse's feelings by trying to save our marriage!  My spouse says 'We tried therapy,' but we barely went!"“Gem” wrote me after a recent episode of my podcast.  In that episode, a therapist said, after one single session (where divorce had not been mentioned) that the client needed to prepare for divorce.

In Gem’s case, her husband used therapy as the excuse that they “had tried therapy but it didn’t work.”  But he went further, saying that if Gem did not go along with his desire to divorce, it amounted to her disregarding (and disrespecting) his emotions.

I would have said, “WHAT??”, except I have heard the same thing over and over.

Often enough that I have even wondered if some Pro-Divorce “expert” had given that as the secret recipe to shift a spouse out of “save the marriage mode.” (Yes, those folks do exist… and yes, spouses do find them… and use them to arm against staying married — as if you need to arm against that!!)

What does it mean when a spouse says, “You are disrespecting my feelings by trying to save our marriage”?  And what do you do?  IS it disrespectful?  SHOULD you just go along and give up?

I cover it in this week’s Save The Marriage Podcast.  Listen below.

RELATED RESOURCES
Can Your Marriage Be Saved?
Why Isn’t Your Marriage Turning Around?
Am I Against Therapy?
Can You Convince A Spouse?
Here’s How To Save Your Marriage… Even Working Alone

4 Fears That Halt Your Efforts… And Don’t Need To
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

4 fears that stop your efforts to save your marriage... but don't have to!You’ve decided to save your marriage. You start the process, maybe even make some progress.

Then, BAM!  You hit a wall.

A wall of fear.  Fears that sabotage your efforts, pull you back from your plan, get you to give up.

But those fears do not have to be the end of your efforts.  In fact, those fears need not do anything to your efforts.  Fears and actions are not the same.  Fears are fears.  Whenever we base our actions on fears, we give them too much power.

When you are working on saving a marriage, there are 4 fears that strike many people… and they may just hit you! And then, you have to decide whether the fears stop your efforts or if they are just “background noise.”

Which will they be for you?

Listen to the podcast episode below.

RELATED RESOURCES
Relationship Fears
3 C’s of Saving A Marriage
Why Save It?
Save The Marriage System

NMF: The Fastest Path to Failure
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

NMF Syndrom:  Why "Its not my fault" just keeps you stuck and what to do.The email was pages long, all about the problems in her marriage.  Each line was about how her husband had ruined the marriage.  She pointed out actions of her husband, and he did make mistakes (no abuse, mind you).

She wanted to know what to do — how to save her marriage — given the fact that it wasn’t her fault.  She was clear that she wanted the marriage, but she just didn’t know what to do, after all he had done to damage the relationship.

NMF

She was skidding down the fastest path to failing in her efforts.  And she didn’t see how she had anything to do with it.

NMF

When we talked on the phone, I asked a little bit more about the dynamics of the relationship.  But I noticed she kept shifting back to “he did…,” “he didn’t….” She could point out his failures and shortcomings.

And then she would return to her question:  Given his actions, how could she save her marriage?

NMF

I had no doubt that she really wanted to save her marriage.  And I had little doubt that she would be unsuccessful.

Because she had fallen in the NMF trap.  Figured it out yet?  The NMF trap is “Not My Fault.”

Here is the problem with “Not My Fault”:  It leaves you stuck.  It does relieve you of blame or fault.  But it also tends to rob people of responsibility (Response-Ability).

Let’s talk about why this trap happens and how to avoid it.  Listen below.

RELATED RESOURCES
Show Up
How You Hide
Choosing To Work
Connection
Being A WE
Save The Marriage System

When Your Spouse Wants To TALK
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

When your spouse wants to talk. What do you do?“We need to talk,” is the start-up of many conversations with a spouse in marital strife.  Those words can strike fear and dread into you.  What if things turn south?  How do you respond?  What do you do?

If you are following my System, you know that I have a number of “Don’t Do’s” that can keep you out of trouble.  This is my list of thing NOT to do.

And one biggie is Don’t Talk About The Relationship.  What I mean by that is YOU should not have THE “Relationship Talk.”  You know… the one that you have rehearsed in your head… the one where your spouse will “see the light” and return to the marriage — given your full list of reasons and emotions.

Except… that is not what happens.  Your spouse is not reading off of the script you have in your head.  And so, the talk goes south.

So, what do you do, then, if you are committed to not having the “relationship talk,” and your spouse is wanting to talk about the relationship?

I’m here to help!  In this week’s podcast episode, I cover this question.  I tell you why your spouse wanting to talk about your marriage is NOT the same as my rule about not having that Relationship Talk.  And I share why avoiding your spouse’s desire to talk is actually a problem.  Perhaps a BIG problem.

So, how do you have that talk and make it work FOR your relationship?  Listen to the episode for help on how to talk about the relationship when your spouse wants to, without having THE “Relationship Talk.”

Resources
Connection versus Confusion
Communication is Not the Issue
Relationship Talks
Save The Marriage System

Surviving Disconnection
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

How to survive and correct disconnection in your marriage, so that you can save your marriage.Survival has been the theme for the last few weeks.  Not just surviving, but overcoming and thriving.  We’ve covered separation, infidelity, conflict, the “Golden Hour,” mistakes, and Empty Nest/Mid Life Crisis.  This week, we end the series on surviving as we turn our attention to disconnection.

Really, in many ways, disconnection is the underlying issue.  It leads to separation and infidelity.  It amplifies conflict.  It precipitates the crisis.  It contributes to the mistakes.  And an empty nest/midlife is a marriage crisis because of the disconnection.

Which makes it so important to cover this week.

If you want to resolve a marriage crisis, you have to survive the disconnection — and create renewed connection.

Connection is the lifeblood of a relationship, and especially a marriage.  As the connection goes, so goes the relationship — unless you solve the disconnection.

Let’s talk about why the disconnection is such an issue and how to solve it.

RELATED RESOURCES
Surviving Separation
Surviving Infidelity
Surviving Conflict
Surviving The Golden Hour
Surviving Mistakes and Backslides
Surviving Empty Nest/Mid Life Crisis
You Need A Plan
Love Languages
Save The Marriage System

Why You and Your Plan Are Stalled
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

whyplanstalledAre your efforts to save your marriage getting stalled?  Maybe we should take a look at your plan.

You do have a plan, don’t you?

Let’s talk about 5 reasons your plan (or lack of plan) may be the trouble — and what we can do to make a switch.

To be crystal clear, all 5 reasons are in your control.  YOU can choose how you move forward in each of these issues.  You may not have control over your spouse’s reaction, but you do have choices in your planning and execution of your plan.

Check out these related trainings:
Points of Failure
Your Reasons Why

And check out these resources:
How To Save Your Marriage In 3 Simple Steps book
The Save The Marriage System