Your toxic boss treats you with visible disdain, but you can't quite put your finger on why given you're a hard-working, dedicated employee. The end to the honeymoon phase of your relationship has ushered in a transformed boyfriend of yours who suddenly seems to take you for granted. Dissatisfied with his own life, your friend tries to project onto you the misery he's experiencing, constantly lashing out and accusing you of wrongdoing. For far too many of us, a common thread runs through each of these scenarios: Not knowing what to do and afraid of losing our job or jeoparding the relationship, we just bite the bullet and press on.  But we can't live in constant fear. We cannot allow other people to run over us like an 18-wheeler does a plastic bottle.  You can stand up for yourself in a civil, if firm, manner, sans name-calling and expletives. Even if you sense some hostility building up on the other end, do not gift them the satisfaction of seeing you brought to their...

Ah, the bumpy, unpredictable world of dating. Whether we're meeting someone for the first time on a blind date or being fixed up by a mutual friend, dating can sure seem like a labyrinth sometimes! Not to mention you never really know what to expect. Some people may turn out to be total weirdos. Others may seem like the complete package, only they're already married and looking for some on the side. Still others, despite appearing to be nice people, are ones we're just not attracted to, no matter how much we try to will ourselves toward liking them more. In this post, I'd like to share a dating tip that will improve your odds of finding Mr. or Ms. Right. Ready? When you're getting to know someone, aim to see them for who they are rather than who you want them to be. This is easier said than done sometimes during the so-called honeymoon stage in which hormones are raging and stomachs become flooded with butterflies. But sooner or later, a person...

A while back, I came across a rather amusing quote: "Love is like a fart. If you have to force it, it's probably shit."  I don't know who the source of the comical quote is, but he or she was spot on. Love should never have to be forced. If one or both people in the relationship are forcing it, that raises a critical question: Why are they even together? Either the chemistry is off, one or both individuals has grown bored, or, worse yet, they've fallen out of love altogether. As I've noted in prior posts, once a couple passes the honeymoon stage, people's true colors emerge and the relationship begins to feel a little more like "work." Quirks about your partner that once seemed cute may begin to get on your nerves. As passion gradually gives way to complacency, partners may cease doing the little things that so endeared them to each other. You know you're with the right person when: You can be yourself around him or her You ...

A relationship doesn't stand a chance of surviving without compromise. If partners aren't willing to find common ground and meet somewhere in the middle, the road ahead will surely be a bumpy one. As I noted in a recent post, selfishness has no place in a relationship. Once you become seriously involved with someone, the carefree days of doing whatever you want, whenever you want, are over. That's why you should never enter into a relationship unless you're willing to part with some of the freedoms you enjoyed when you were single. Being in a relationship means not always getting what you want. It means that you won't always get your way. It means the feelings and views of your partner need to be taken into account before certain decisions are made. Once you're in a relationship, it's no longer about "I," but "us." You and your partner are a team, and the two of you have to make choices that may not benefit you or him/her in the...

It sure is. We all miss the butterflies in our stomach -- the sheer excitement of having someone new in our life. Maybe your partner did little things that filled you with immense joy, like deliver flowers to your job or leave love notes in your wallet. Once the relationship begins to mature, these things tend to happen less often. As you transition from happy couple to married couple to parents, it becomes less about passionate love and more about companionship. Going from seeing each other once or twice a week to living with one another changes the dynamics of a relationship tremendously. Whereas before you waited for your weekly date with bated breath, now you've fallen into a routine of seeing your partner every day. Sometimes I miss the early days in my relationship, when I looked forward to seeing my now-wife with great anticipation. Everything felt new and exciting. We were getting to know each other. Our future together seemed promising. Now that we've been ...

2014 was a busy, stressful year for my wife and I. We started condo searching in January, and 11 months and 2 failed properties later, we finally closed on a property we find to be almost perfect for us. We had quite a few hurdles to surmount, from lenders denying us loans to dealing with a realtor who wasn't as aggressive and responsive as we'd hoped. The wedding and honeymoon were in March. We actually got engaged 2 years before the event (March 2012). Giving yourself that much time to plan the wedding is a double-edged sword. While it ensures you won't run into a time crunch like those who schedule a wedding, say, 6 months after the engagement, putting something off that long can make it feel like the big day will never arrive. Sometimes it's better to give yourself a shorter window and be done with it. Thankfully, with help from the reception hall, the night saw no serious hiccups. But everything that had to be done in the months leading up to the wedding -- fro...