Emotionally Attractive=Awareness of Others & Empathy

Emotionally Attractive=Awareness of Others & Empathy

Being emotionally attractive sometimes means reading between the lines: knowing what our partners need before they know what they need. Awareness shows thoughtfulness and regard for how others feel.  It’s called empathy as the two of you have joined as one. In healthy relationship two halves make a whole. In relationships that lack emotional attraction those two halves make a hole. Being unaware makes the other feel invisible, discounted and unimportant. Celebrating relationships with awareness means that we can hear, feel and desire our partners’ thoughts and feelings. Sometimes it’s hard to ask for things that we need from our partners but having awareness by playing close attention will make our emotional attraction stronger. For today, find a way to observe your partner’s body language, tone and facial expression during conversations with others, while watching a comedy show or by giving without any reason.

Emotionally Attractive=Awareness of Others & Empathy

Being emotionally attractive sometimes means reading between the lines: knowing what our partners need before they know what they need. Awareness shows thoughtfulness and regard for how others feel.  It’s called empathy as the two of you have joined as one. In healthy relationship two halves make a whole. In relationships that lack emotional attraction those two halves make a hole. Being unaware makes the other feel invisible, discounted and unimportant. Celebrating relationships with awareness means that we can hear, feel and desire our partners’ thoughts and feelings. Sometimes it’s hard to ask for things that we need from our partners but having awareness by playing close attention will make our emotional attraction stronger. For today, find a way to observe your partner’s body language, tone and facial expression during conversations with others, while watching a comedy show or by giving without any reason.

Emotionally Attractive=Enthusiastic & Jovial

Being emotionally attractive beams from the inside out when we are enthusiastic. The energy bounces all over the place. Enthusiasm is contagious and can light up the room. Being jovial makes people feel jolly and joyous. Showing enthusiasm for our partners validate not only them but also the relationship as a whole. When people feel regarded the likelihood is they’ll respond favorably to the gesture. Everyone wants to believe they matter—that somehow they are significant. Enthusiasm motivates and inspires—it’s what every healthy relationship needs to sustain its viability. When was the last time you demonstrated enthusiasm for your mate? What happened in your relationship that made you jump for joy and shout your enthusiasm from the rooftop? Can you remember the last effort you made to make your partner feel special? Relationships are like sporting events: you need to cheer them on. Have a surprise party, take your partner on a surprise getaway or simply bring breakfast to bed and watch old movies together. Enthusiasm means awareness and gratitude and remember you get what you give if you’re in the right relationship.

Emotionally Attractive=Friendly & Kind

Being emotionally attractive is an inside job requiring self-evaluation of traits that define your inner core. Today, I’ll discuss what it means to be friendly and kind to others and how they respond favorably to the gestures we give. A great example to illustrate my point is when we get on an elevator where everyone intensely stairs at the numbers above the door to avoid making eye contact. These trapped people try to pretend they don’t see us, which often causes discomfort. Why do we do this? What are we afraid of? It’s feels rude and awkward to me so in my quest to be friendly and kind, each time I get onto an elevator I immediately greet people with a smile or I’ll ask them to press the floor button for me. Because I’ve broken the ice, others feel safer and can find it easier to relax. “What a relief she can see me.” That’s what friendly and kindness are all about: taking that first step, making that first move, removing the burden and lifting discomfort. To date, I haven’t found one person who didn’t appreciate my gesture but even if I did it’s on them for not being able to relax. The truth is you made the effort and most will be grateful. Once I bought a house and the neighbors were quick to let me know there was a mean woman living next door to me. I decided that I would kill her with kindness. Every time I saw her drive by my house, I vigorously waved and smiled without so much as an acknowledgment. After months of being ignored, this neighbor finally waved slightly but turned away quickly. I was hopeful so I continued waving and smiling. Eventually, she began to wave back and from time-to-time not only did she not grimace she often returned a pleasant gesture. Although she rarely got along with anyone else, she and I had a respectful understanding. It’s hard to be mean and angry all the time when someone extends their kindness. The objective then is not to expect anything back immediately but rather from the heart because we have it to give.  In any relationship whether it is a neighbor, coworker or partner, being friendly and kind matter and the emotional attraction wins out because even if the person it is intended for doesn’t notice, someone else more deserving will.

Hot Felon

A topic of discussion on Dr. Drew recently was “Hot Felon” where the panel was debating about the physical appearance of a man who had been arrested. I have recently launched a new book entitled, How to Depolarize Your Jerk Magnet, and this is the very thing I educate women on regarding men in orange jumpsuits. These bad boys light up the brain and create excitement, but it isn’t attraction women feel rather it's danger and intensity. Many women may say it’s okay to think a violent man is attractive physically, but in reality it's the emotional brain that's attracted to the thrill. My book highlights the rationale these jerk magnets use to justify loving them. If jerk magnets need the sensation of extreme ups and downs they might consider a roller coaster ride instead. This way when these women get tired of the ride they can get off. The price of admission is cheaper too. Any comments and insights are welcome!

Marriages: Know the Difference Between Good and Not Bad

Yesterday we discussed the differences between not easy and hard as they pertain to relationships and how perceptions alter our cognitive processing—ultimately contributing to how we relate to loved ones. Another similar distortion used with regularity is when we rationalize that our relationship isn’t bad—which by default—makes us automatically see what we have as good. But is that really true? Not bad and good are two mutually exclusive thoughts. If you’re asked how the steak was and you reply, “not bad,” do you get that wow sensation and refer to the flavor as good? Or does not bad mean mediocre or not great? Not bad means not awful and interchanging the not bad with good means you have settled for less. Don’t gage your relationship on the extreme absolutes but rather take the middle ground and see the relationship for what you truly feel. For example, when someone answers the how-are-you-doing salutation with, not bad are they genuinely convinced that they’re good? Not really, not bad means just what it implies: not bad, not good…just okay. Conversely, stating you’re in a good marriage because you’ve experienced a bad marriage is just as inaccurate. When new budding romances are devoid of certain previous characteristics, which were bad experiences, the knee-jerk reaction might be to compare them to old unhealthy relationships and see the new person as good for you. But the truth is, each relationship is an island that stands alone and must merit its own worth based on how it feels in and of itself. There are couples trapped in marriages that aren’t bad enough to leave yet not good enough to stay. They are in suspended animation. These are the marriages where people stay together and role model to their children what love is supposed to look like but then flee once the kids are on their own. New research finds that divorce isn’t what screws up kids…it’s unhealthy marriages that do. If you find yourself in this predicament determine if what you have with your partner is remotely close to what you want for your children to have in their marriages. The clock is ticking with each moment you spend time convincing yourself the relationship is good based on it not being bad.  More importantly, you demonstrate to your kids what love is supposed to feel like. Do you want your kids to have the same relationship that you have? Although each individual contributes to how the relationship looks there are times when nothing can be done to make the relationship right because the other party is unwilling. Decide if staying is worth it because sooner or later the choice between having a relationship, which is not bad will just not be good.

Relationships: Not Easy or Hard?

Couples often complain that relationships are a struggle. They interchangeably use words like hard or not easy to explain how difficult love can be. I take issue with these descriptive concepts being presented as one and the same as the subjectivity is counterproductive to having healthy interactions. When couples claim relationship aren’t easy by default that means love must be hard. Hard is an absolute extreme that generates pessimism and becomes a roadblock to intimacy. Reframing these two implications however can make relationships better as the differences between not easy and hard are distinct. Going to college for four years, for instance, isn’t easy but it doesn’t mean it’s hard if you have a dream. Writing a novel isn’t necessarily easy but it isn’t hard either if you love writing. Fully decorating a house isn’t always easy but again, it isn’t really hard when you want your house to feel like a home. Anything worth anything takes time, commitment and attitude. The difference between not easy and hard is that not easy seems doable and has a positive objective. Not easy takes a concerted effort BUT feels good around most turns—and is solution based. Hard, on the other hand, is usually not fun, creates doubt—and is problem oriented. Hard is spending more time fighting to be heard and regarded whereas not easy infers cooperation and consideration. It’s the difference between compromising oneself and compromise. The former is hard because you lose yourself but the latter although not so easy implies negotiation and teamwork, which is certainly worth the effort. Do you use the word hard to describe your relationship with your best friend or is the interaction with him or her simply not easy?

Carefully evaluate how you feel when you say your intimate relationships aren’t easy to ensure you’re not leaping to the erroneous conclusion that they’re hard because your thoughts become your feelings and your feelings become your actions and your actions dictate your outcomes. If your relationship isn’t easy find ways to improve it but if it’s hard you might want to cut your losses and consider someone who isn’t hard. You decide.

Tomorrow we will discuss the difference between good versus bad marriages.