The World's Best Book Summaries
What’s the key to a successful marriage? What do happily married couples do differently? According to relationship researcher John Gottman, the foundation of a successful and emotionally fulfilling marriage is marital friendship. If your marriage lacks this foundation, it’s only a matter of time before cracks begin to appear. Here’s how to have a successful marriage, according to Gottman and Silver.
Do people often overstep your personal boundaries? How do you effectively establish and appropriately communicate your boundaries? Setting boundaries can be tricky, but it’s essential for respectful and harmonious relationships. It can be especially challenging to set boundaries with loved ones and at work. Therapist Nedra Glover Tawwab provides strategies for dealing with common boundary issues.
Are cracks beginning to show in your marriage? What are some things you can do to prevent your marriage from deteriorating beyond repair? If you are seeing signs that your marriage is beginning to fail, put your efforts toward improving your marital friendship. According to relationship researcher John Gottman, improving your marital friendship is a matter of following four principles. Here’s how to improve your marriage, according to Gottman.
What is homophily? What are some examples of the negative consequences of homophily? In his 2019 book, Rebel Ideas, Matthew Syed explains why cognitively diverse groups are superior to homogeneous ones. According to Syed, homogeneity can lead to dangerous outcomes, including homophily, which means our tendency to surround ourselves with like-minded people. Read on to learn what homophily is, including some examples from Syed’s book Rebel Ideas.
Why is trust so important in relationships? How is trust earned? What does it take to destroy trust? Trust sets the tone of every interpersonal interaction. Trust is earned gradually but can be destroyed in an instant. Therefore, you should make maintaining trust your top priority in all your relationships, personal and professional. Learn how trust works, why it’s important, and how to build it with others and yourself.
What is 4 Essential Keys to Effective Communication about? What are the main takeaways of the book? Two of the most common communication faux pas are the failure to effectively listen and the failure to adequately express yourself to others. 4 Essential Keys to Effective Communication by Bento C. Leal says that these issues result in misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and the inability to resolve problems. Read below for a brief overview of Leal’s book on communication.
What are the most common causes of disagreement in a marriage? How can you handle disagreement peacefully and effectively? According to relationship researcher John Gottman, you’ll encounter two categories of disagreement in your marriage: solvable problems and perpetual problems. As their name implies, solvable problems are relatively simple issues that you can fix. Here’s how to solve marriage problems in a calm and tactful manner.
What’s the key to effective communication? Why is empathy so important? In 4 Essential Keys to Effective Communication, Bento C. Leal claims that the first ability of a good communicator is having an empathetic perspective. This will allow you to understand someone’s feelings and experiences better. Let’s look at how an empathetic perspective will boost your conversations.
Do you want to be a better husband or wife? What’s the key to being a more loving, more attentive, and overall better spouse? Being a good spouse is a matter of keeping an open mind. When you keep an open mind, you stay receptive to your partner’s requests and concerns instead of making decisions unilaterally. With this in mind, here are some tips on how to be a better spouse.
How do you communicate your personal boundaries? Is there a right and a wrong way to communicate your boundaries? Communicating boundaries in interpersonal relationships is tricky, especially for those who grew up in a family where there was no concept of personal boundaries. As a result, many people resort to toxic methods to communicate where their boundaries lie. Therapist Nedra Glover Tawwab highlights several communication patterns to avoid when setting your boundaries.