CRUCIAL MOMENTS
It's an amazingly simple concept, yet most people are shocked
to learn that their relationship problems happen at a certain SPECIFIC
MOMENT!
WHAT HAPPENS IN THAT SPECIFIC MOMENT usually determines
how bad the whole problem is gong to get!
WHAT TO DO ABOUT YOUR MOMENT OF GREATEST STRESS
The next MOMENT that you notice that your partner
has the IMPULSE to have sex with you NOTICE THINGS LIKE THIS:
1) What THE OTHER PERSON actually DOES when they feel this
urge. (Do they go ahead with the urge and approach you sexually, do
they hold back... What?)
2) What YOU actually did the split-second BEFORE they had
the urge. (Was their urge to have sex with you "triggered"
by something you did?)
3) What THE OTHER PERSON does next.
4) What YOU do next.
5) Where you are. (Are the physical surroundings "fitting"
for this impulse? Do they "trigger" it?)
6) How your partner seems to feel when they act on the
impulse (or when they don't).
7) How their action (or lack of action) effects you.
8) How good was your partner at COMMUNICATING the message
to you that they wanted to have sex with you?
9) How good were you at RECEIVING their message?
10) How else could they have tried to communicate this
message to you?
If you don't learn much from noticing these ten things
the first time, do it again and again until you think you have a pretty
good idea why things go wrong.
Remember, we are talking about THE worst problem in your
relationship here.
It's got to be WORTH the time it takes to figure it out!
This is the "data gathering" phase. The only
thing left after the data gathering is take action. Here's what I suggest....
If your theory ONLY has to do with YOU, it's time for
some "self-therapy."
Ask yourself questions like this:
"Why don't I notice when my partner wants to have sex with
me?"
"How did I get this way? Why am I uncomfortable when they start
to have sex with me? When and where did I learn to be uncomfortable
about such a good thing? Is my discomfort related to past experiences
with them or with someone else?"
"Why do I keep responding in this same way over and over even though
it doesn't work well for us?"
"Why do I keep hoping these things will work despite so much evidence
to the contrary?"
Then make a lengthy list of all of the OTHER things you
could do when they have this impulse (besides the things you keep trying
that don't work).
All you need to do then is EXPERIMENT with your list of
these other things to do.
Most of them WILL AUTOMATICALLY WORK BETTER than what
you've been doing!
Some of them may even work wonderfully for both
of you!
If your theory is that THE OTHER PERSON causes the problem
or that it takes BOTH of you to create the problem, it's time for a
discussion with your partner.
If you are excited about your theory and almost sure
that it is true:
JUST TELL YOUR PARTNER WHAT YOU'VE FIGURED OUT! But be
ready for them to disagree. There are two reasons they might disagree:
1) They may know more about the situation than you do and need to explain
some things to you.
2) They might be shocked that you were even thinking about it and that
you came up with such a good solution! (It's only human nature to disbelieve
someone else's claim that they have figured out an answer to something
that seemed "unsolvable" just a few seconds before!)
If you aren't so sure about your theory:
Just tell your partner what you've been thinking about
and what you've come up with so far. Then ask them to do their best
thinking so you can figure out more together.
EVENTUALLY, THE TWO OF YOU WILL COME UP WITH A PLAN. TRY
IT OUT!
If it works, great! If it doesn't, talk again and come
up with your next plan.
Keep referring back to the ten things I suggested for
you to notice (top of the page).
THE BEST WAY TO SOLVE PROBLEMS
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