Fight from the Same Side: Ever noticed how easy it is to fight on the opposing side of an issue with your spouse and stay there? Being right. Being heard. Not budging becomes the goal…. not resolving the issue.

The longer we work with couples in this area of conflict resolution the more  we are encouraging couples to solve their problems from the same side. Link arms and work together. Two minds working together are far more powerful than one.

When life throws something at you decide to face the challenge together. What are your options? Write them down. Think outside the box. Some ideas might be ridiculous but still consider them.

The more often you practice working together the more satisfied you will become with your relationship. The happier you will be. You will impact the world around you by being a team.

I challenge you to think about this.

In fact, a problem is coming your way now. Make plans to succeed – get on the same side as your spouse!

It’s been said before, but I don’t think it’s cliché yet: we devote years to getting an education and then enter one of the biggest decisions of our lives with no preparation at all- Marriage!

I’m sure many couples feel they are so in love and know each other so well they don’t need any extra preparation. Then there’s the fear of getting trapped in a room where you might be put on the spot by the counsellor and feel totally awkward. Besides, why turn over your private life to some stranger- who says he/she knows anything?!?!

Enter Prepare and Enrich. Here is a scientific approach to finding out how a couple is doing in 12 key areas, as well as a personality assessment. This is accomplished by means of a 200+ question inventory that asks all about the individual and how they view various aspects of their relationship (done online). What comes back is a “map” of great detail and incredible accuracy (as many couples have attested) of their areas of strength and areas of growth.

Note it is not “weakness” but “growth”; neither the report nor the P&E coach presume to tell the couple whether or not they will succeed in their marriage- there is no “pass” or “fail” here. Rather, the map is a starting place to begin to teach specific tools to help the couple with their areas of growth, and celebrate the areas of strength. The process realistically assumes that all couples will have conflict and difficulties; it is not the so-called “perfectly matched” couples who will succeed but those who make their relationship a priority and work at it.

Don’t just plan a wedding, plan for a marriage!! (another cliché?) You’ve found the right person, now do the right thing for the two of you. Why just fall in a pot hole you could have known about ahead of time and fixed? Get real preparation for the conflicts that will inevitably come.

We are proud to be Prepare and Enrich coaches.

Choose the one that is right for the two of you. Try the couples test here.