Every marriage will go through times of challenge. Some marriages will be strengthened while others will be destroyed. Tough times may be as common as financial problems or the aftermath of a hurtful argument. Marriages may suffer as the result of a miscarriage or the death of a loved one. Whatever challenge you face, remember this:

It is better to be prepared for tough times and not have them than to have tough times and not be prepared.

Here are five of the essential principles to strengthen your relationship and give you an edge during times of adversity.

1) Be Mindful Not To Worry. If something needs to be fixed, fix it if you can but remember that worry never fixes anything. Worrying is a waste of time and energy. It’s like sitting in a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but it gets you nowhere. Worry prevents you from seeing hope and solutions.

Besides, most things we worry about never happen.

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The fight or flight response is a natural response to danger. Our bodies are created to fight or flee when danger is upon us, such as being attacked by a mountain lion. When faced with this kind of danger, the stress hormones pour into our body, causing some blood to leave our brains and organs and go into our arms and legs. This is vital to us if we are actually being attacked by a mountain lion or a mugger. The problem is that this same response occurs when we become afraid in other situations, such as conflict with a partner.

When in conflict with a partner, we need to have the full capacity of our minds to deal rationally and lovingly with the situation. Yet the moment we become afraid, some of the blood leaves our brain, we cannot think as well, and we automatically go into fight or flight. That is when partners tend to fight or withdraw, neither of which leads to conflict resolution.

Obviously, fighting or fleeing is not the best way of dealing with conflict. Yet when fears are triggered – fears of losing the other through rejection or abandonment, or of losing yourself and being controlled by your partner – the stress response is automatically activated and you find yourself fighting or shutting down. Now matter how much you tell yourself that next time you will respond differently, the moment fear is activated you automatically attack, defend, yell, blame, or shut down through compliance or withdrawal.

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If you’re letting your date meet your family and friends you must be getting more serious about the person you’re dating. That’s good. You may be a little apprehensive about your date meeting your family and friends because you want things to go well. You want your friends and family to like the person you date and your date to like them. Don’t worry about it! Just be yourselves and move forward with the introductions! Here are some tips and information that may help you when you’re preparing to have your date meet your family and friends:

1) You may want to prepare your date for meeting your family by making them aware of any family traditions or what may be expected by your family. For example, if your family expects on Sundays that everyone in the family attend dinner at your parents home by 5:00 p.m., let the person you’re dating know this.

2) Introduce your date to your friends. Yes that’s right it’s okay to see what your friends think about your date! Just don’t hold your friends opinion to heart if they don’t like the person you’re dating. Ultimately it’s your choice on how you feel about the person you’re interested in.
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Johnny Depp is a dude. Hugh Jackman is a dude. Even perennially cute Hugh Grant is a dude. Going desi, Abhishek Bachchan is a dude. There are some guys/boys/men you see and the only way to describe them is, “Now that’s a dude.” Yet there are others who you know are the ‘undudes’. But who is an undude and are you dating one? Don’t be in the blind.

Here’s how you spot an undude and completely avoid him!

When you’re at a party

Before you see him, you will hear him. While the dudes will be chilling, the Undude will be screaming, “C’mon everybody, let’s groooove. ld’s a parrrty.” It’s easier spotting them at a costume party – the Batmen, Zorros and Supermen are easily the undudes. No imagination and a preference for spandex.
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In my article, “The Art of the Approach–to Life,” I taught you the best ways to approach the very art of approaching: with attitude, and with choice. Decide what mindset you’re going to carry into your encounters with girls, and decide what kind of girls you actually want. Once you’ve figured out what type of women you want, it’s time to go for her. Let’s find out what are some great ways to approach girls, then how to get the first date.

First subject: the inevitable topic of pick-up lines. They just don’t work. You know why? Because they’re predictable and ordinary, the exact things girls DON’T want from a guy. When you feed a standard pickup line to her, you’re communicating that you’re the same as every other guy you there. Not what you want. What WOMEN want are excitement, spontaneity, surprise. They also want someone GENUINE. So when you’re talking to a girl, don’t look like you’re copying someone’s lines; talk like you just noticed her and, being confident, decided you want to pursue her.
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