EmPowered Couples with The Freemans Aaron & Jocelyn Freeman

It’s likely that you have said one of these two things to your partner. “Why don’t you just accept me for who I am” or “I really need you to change this _____”. At some point in your relationship you will find yourselves getting more upset about things that your partner does, says, or ways they show up for you. Of course relationships are about supporting the needs of the other person but a big question arises at this junction… Where is the line of accepting my partner the way they are versus being able to ask for a change to be made. 
This is a thin line between resigning yourself to things continuing to not serve you or the relationship and constantly asking your partner to be different. This is especially when it comes to who they are as a person and their base personality traits. 
In this episode you will understand where this line is between change and acceptance so that at the end of the day you both are able to feel accepted as the person you are and be on a healthy path to growing into even better people and partners for each other.
 
Resources For Your Relationship:
Visit our website here for the best communication and conflict resolution resources! Everything from free webclasses, our book, and the communication mastery course bundle for online video training. 

Have you never had that feeling of being perplexed and thrown off guard when you tried to bring something up to your partner? You might have had a recent upset, an event that you were frustrated by, or another emotion that you needed to express to your partner. Within a few seconds your partner dumps all their own upsets and frustrations at you; even going as far as to compare how their pain is worse than yours! 
This is an “emotional hijack” that makes the conversation all about them and leaves you feeling stunned, caught off guard, that it’s unfair, and even selfish of them. What makes matters worse is that you had a positive intention to communicate openly and often vulnerably with them. After this, why would you even want to bring up anything in the future? 
In this episode you will hear about the reasons this dynamic happens and what is really going on for them to take over your conversation. Then you will hear 2 things that can be done differently so that you do not lose faith and trust in each other to be able to express yourselves without you feeling hijacked!
 
Resources For Your Relationship:
As a listener get $50 off The Communication Mastery Bundle course for you to be better at both the speaker and listener role, as to not hijack important conversations with your partner! At checkout use the code: 50bundle
 

Food that is “bland” isn’t bad or inedible, it just lacks any zest or real flavor. Marriage can take on a similar feeling too, it’s not that anything is a major problem, but you are not feeling any real zest, excitement, or even newness. 
As you will hear in this episode, all relationships will find themselves in this type of season for some specific reasons. You will also hear some examples, that might even be happening for you now, that signify that you need to take these steps to bring in some freshness, newness, and intentionally to your zest for life and each other!
 
Resources For Your Relationship:
Watch our FREE WebClass on: The 5 Steps to Fully Repair After an Argument so you reconnect in minutes (Instead of Hours, Days, Weeks). Watch our free webclass on: End the Battle for Fairness to align relationship roles, reduce overwhelm, and be a united team again. Order our book, The Argument Hangover, and get over $200 of free bonus gifts (like the mini course and a 90 minute training).

This is a bit of a celebration episode for us personally… Just in the past week this podcast broke into the Top 20 relationship podcasts on Apple, we went over 100,000 followers on Instagram, and we had over 500 couples join the Fight Smarter Weblcass! (by the way if you missed the weblcass you can watch it again with this link)
As you can imagine for us, we are very proud and excited, plus we have been receiving SO many questions from all the new couples in this relationship ecosystem. So this episode is focused on the 5 top questions we have been receiving over DMs and through emails from all this new activity. 
We are doing this in part so that the one thing WE KNOW, you can come to know too… That most couples are really dealing with the same kinds of challenges. Though the circumstances and emotional responses might be different, many of the relationship themes are the same. This is so that you know you are not alone in what you go through!
 
Resources For Your Relationship:
If you missed the Fight Smarter Weblcass you can watch it again with this link. The best parenting and discipline course we have found is from a good friend Amy McCready called Positive Parenting Solutions. The Communication Mastery Bundle course for you and your partner to grow closer together, communicate more effectively, and fight smarter! Order our book, The Argument Hangover, and get over $200 of free bonus gifts (like the mini course and a 90 minute training)

Have you ever tried to validate your position during an argument by saying “Oh but that wasn’t my intention”? Have you noticed how that doesn’t help at all? At least in that moment, because it is not the right time. It shows the need to understand the big difference between intent and impact. 
In this episode you will hear about how intention doesn’t matter in these moments and the more you fight for explaining it, the further down you will go into conflict. You will hear how to switch into acknowledging impact, which is the most important, and only thing, to do when your partner has emotion present.
 
Resources For Your Relationship:
Join our LIVE FREE WebClass on Nov. 3rd, 2022 - Fight Smarter: Prevent Unnecessary Arguments, Deescalate Emotional Triggers, and Repiar Faster as a Couple. 
 
If that date has already passed then watch the replay WebClass on: The 5 Steps to Fully Repair After an Argument So You Reconnect in Minutes (Instead of Hours, Days, Weeks). Pick a time to watch it here.