Walking The Matador Walk To Have A Great Relationship And Marriage

Your attitude toward your life, your relationship, and everything else may be more of a determinant of how well they go than the actual effort you put into them. Understand this thoroughly before doing anything else, because you can program yourself for failure even easier than you can program yourself for success, especially in your relationship, because it's the most emotional issue most of us face every day.I hope you are enjoying your day, safely of course, but with gusto! Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope you are doing it well and enjoying it, expecting it to work out for you.Speaking of which, a letter caught my eye last night that triggered a huge rush of analysis and coaching, and I need to share it with you. Meet Marcus:Good evening David,I just finished reading "THE Man's Guide to Great Relationships and Marriage" and I must say I see many things that I can improve on. It certainly looks like you've done your homework, and now I have to do mine and make things happen. Wish me luck, because if this doesn't work, I'm screwed!Thanks so much!MarcusThat last sentence set off alarms and started red flags waving immediately. I wrote the following to Marcus to help him get things in perspective and keep him from tripping himself up:Hi Marcus!Congratulations on making it this far; so many people know they have problems but wallow in them instead of fixing them for a variety of reasons, none of them good. If you see what you have to do, you're already way ahead of the game, because many people's first reaction is denial; they don't want to accept that they have caused their problems through the choices they've made, which keeps them from realizing that fixing their problems is also a matter of choice and entirely within their control.I needed to write to you to warn you about something that you did that may seem trivial at first glance but is indeed self-destructive. In the last sentence of your letter, you said to me, "Wish me luck, because if this doesn't work, I'm screwed!" Take a closer look at this with me...First, you don't need luck. You've recognized your problem, sought and found help, defined the various components of your problem and have solutions to apply to them that have worked for many other people under similar circumstances. In short, you have the tools, and now must simply use them to enjoy success.Next, and possibly even more important, is the phrase "If this doesn't work, I'm screwed!" Do you realize what you're saying here? First, you're focused on the possibility of failure instead of the likelihood of your success. Then, to make matters worse, you've violated the first rule of self-programming: never use negative language when talking about yourself or your life. Why is that important?One of the most brilliant men I've ever met, Maxwell Maltz, wrote about it in his most excellent book, "Psychocybernetics," in which he describes a subconscious mechanism that automatically and constantly works to move you toward whatever you are focused on. Whether you focus on failure or success, that's where it takes you. And there's an even uglier part of that at work here...The subconscious mind does not process negations! For instance, if I say, "I must not fear," the subconscious processes that as "I must fear;" hence what you should say in that case is "I must be brave." Now look at what you said: "If this doesn't work, I'm screwed." Your subconscious hears that as "If this DOES work, I'm screwed!" That's a pretty nasty thought, isn't it?You have the tools, and you know they've worked for many others. Use them with the expectation that they will work for you, too. If you've ever watched a bullfight, even in a movie, you will have noticed how the matador always walks around the ring with the bull acting as if he has already won. Walk the matador's walk! Know that you will succeed because there is no other possible outcome if you merely apply what you have at your disposal.In your case, it's a fixed fight, because what you are working with are triggers to involuntary behavior in her and the scoop on all her best-kept secrets, all the things that she talks about with her girlfriends behind your back and more! All you have to do is learn, think things through, and then follow through.Take care, and keep in touch,DavidWell, Gents, there's very little that I could add to that, so I will simply invite you to join Marcus and many others in learning and employing the knowledge in "THE Man's Guide to Great Relationships and Marriage," which you should download right now at http://www.makingherhappy.com, because if you'll look at the calendar, summer is almost gone (for those of us in the northern hemisphere, and the winter holidays are fast approaching. What better gift could you give both yourself and your wife than a new and improved YOU?In the meantime, live well, be well, and have a wonderful day!David Cunningham"Being a man is something to which one should aspire, not something for which he should apologize." --David Cunningham