There was a time when people said marriage was about dying to self. You don’t hear it much anymore, not because it stopped being true, but because we’ve forgotten what marriage really is. We think it’s about compatibility, chemistry, co-parenting, and maybe cohabitation if you’re feeling old-fashioned. But covenant? Sacrifice? Death to ego? That’s ancient language we’ve traded for comfort and convenience. Here’s what often gets missed: marriage only works when ego gets out of

Curiosity thrives in the right environment. It’s not an on/off switch; it’s a response to how safe it feels to wonder. Create chances that prompt curiosity without forcing it. Set out a strange tool and let them ask what it’s for. Pose a problem and walk away long enough for them to circle back. A child who feels the freedom to fail without judgment will test limits on their own — and that’s how curiosity matures into confidence.

Resentment creates a constant fight-or-flight loop in the brain. The amygdala stays activated. The body doesn’t rest. People who live in long-term resentment develop what psychologists call “hostile attribution bias,” interpreting neutral or benign actions as malicious.

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” Madison was not writing about marriage. He was defending the U.S. Constitution, making the case for checks and balances in government. Yet the moment I read that line, my mind drifted to relationships.

I’m still chasing accomplishment, approval, clarity, healing. Even now, while I’m typing this. There’s this voice in my head that doesn’t quite quit: “Just one more insight… one more breakthrough… then you’ll make it.” So no, this isn’t me on top of some peaceful inner mountain, giving a TED talk and handing out three easy steps to bliss. This is me mid-climb. Sweaty. Slipping. Wondering sometimes, "am I even on the right path".

Cut through the noise with practical strategies tailored to your kind of anxiety—whether it’s racing thoughts, social dread, panic attacks, trauma loops, or the fear of not measuring up. No fluff. No filler. Just what actually helps.

You don’t always realize you’re staying too long. Not at first. You tell yourself you’re being faithful. That this is what love does. That walking away would make you selfish, ungrateful, dramatic. You swallow things. You make excuses. You wait.

Most couples think the presence of conflict means something’s broken or that they are suddenly incompatible. But research shows the opposite. The absence of conflict usually means avoidance, resentment, or emotional disengagement.

Empathy is a virtue. But no virtue is immune to distortion. When empathy becomes a strategy—to manipulate, guilt-trip, or control—it stops being empathy. It becomes performance. And yet, the name remains.

There’s a reason a dad’s presence (or absence) leaves such a distinct mark. For a daughter, the father figure is often the first external source of masculine attention, and therefore the first unspoken answer to the primal questions: Am I safe? Am I chosen? Am I delightful, just as I am?