Carol Bruess | Wit & Delight | Designing a Life Well-Lived

6 of the Best Ways to Cultivate a Relationship That Lasts

Carol Bruess — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 11:00:00 +0000

Relationship researcher Carol Bruess is sharing how we can tune into our relationships more deeply to cultivate meaningful relationships that last. (Hint: It'll take a bit of work, but it'll be worth it in the long run.)

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Why Curiosity in Conversations Is Key to a Healthy Relationship

Carol Bruess — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 11:00:00 +0000

Here's why curiosity in conversations is a tool hiding in plain sight that can help maintain and fix relationships.

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5 Questions You Need to Ask Before Getting Married

Carol Bruess — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 12:00:00 +0000

When you’re in it for the long haul, everything needs to be on the table. Here are 5 important questions to ask before getting married.

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When to Leave a Relationship and How to Do It

Carol Bruess — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 16:00:00 +0000

Today relationship researcher Carol Bruess is sharing her expertise on when, why, and how to leave a relationship.

We trust you'll find her words as insightful as we have!

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Why Play Is So Important in Relationships

Carol Bruess — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 15:00:00 +0000

This relationship researcher is sharing what play looks like in relationships and why it's so profoundly important to foster.

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How to Develop a Healthy Relationship with Regret

Carol Bruess — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 16:00:00 +0000

"Whatever the regret was, whatever that thing was, acknowledge it as sad. Maybe it was the loss of a dream or a loss of a memory you wish you could have had. Or the creation of a memory you wish you didn't have. But it's there. And it's okay to be sad about it without drowning in it."

Today relationship researcher Carol Bruess and Dr. Chris Gonzalez are sharing the six steps you need to create a healthy relationship with regret in your life.

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How to Adapt Your Rituals in Times of Uncertainty

Carol Bruess — Fri, 11 Dec 2020 16:00:00 +0000

"It’s not the tree nor the pie nor the cookies nor the elf that sits on so many shelves. Our rituals are rarely about the object, but about the meaning we give them—and the people and relationships that have co-created them."

Researcher and contributor Carol Bruess is writing about how we can adapt our rituals and traditions in times of change and uncertainty. It's worth a read, as it relates to this holiday season and, you know...life in general.

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How to Advocate for Your Needs in a Relationship

Carol Bruess — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 16:00:00 +0000

"Doing the work of building connection is core work in every relationship, something done little by little, choice by choice. And when done well, over time, asking for what you need becomes easier because your we is already strong."

Today relationship researcher Carol Bruess is sharing how we can define our needs and ask for what we want in a relationship.

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A Case for Becoming More Gentle in Your Life

Carol Bruess — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 15:00:00 +0000

"Ah, gentleness—it ripples. It’s contagious, in fact, and creates profound openings for learning, growth, and joy, and even serves us as we are grieving. Without gentleness, we close ourselves off to optimal learning, to each other, to vulnerability."

Today contributor Carol Bruess is writing about the infinite power of becoming a bit more gentle in life, both to ourselves and to others.

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3 Simple Ways to Improve Your Relationship, Without Therapy

Carol Bruess — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 15:00:00 +0000

Relationship researcher Carol Bruess is sharing a trio of her favorite, evidence-based hacks for improving your relationship or marriage, each requiring just a few extra minutes (max) per week.

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How to Nurture Your Relationships When You’re in Close Quarters

Carol Bruess — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 15:00:00 +0000

Relationship expert Carol Bruess is writing about how we can nurture our relationships and keep the peace with whoever it is we're quarantined alongside.

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What a Simple Mantra Can Do for You

Carol Bruess — Sun, 19 Jan 2020 16:00:00 +0000

"Could a short, affirmative statement—five or so words to recite and renew my focus, over and over and many overs again, quietly in the middle of faculty meetings, arguments with my beloved spouse, or at 3:22 a.m. when my good old friend insomnia came calling—actually work? Spoiler alert: It did."

Today contributor Carol Bruess is writing about why she prefers New Year's mantras over resolutions, and some of the mantras she's set in years past.

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Marriage Is Too Important to Take It Too Seriously

Carol Bruess — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 15:10:08 +0000

"What if we lightened up just a tad on the business of our marriages, and laughed into their messiness a bit more? What if we pulled back the veil on the myth of having a #RelationshipGoals kind of relationship?" Today contributor Carol Bruess is writing about our most intimate, serious relationships, and the importance of taking them a little less seriously sometimes.

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Owning the Ebb and Flow of Your Relationship

Carol Bruess — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 16:00:17 +0000

A few weeks ago I sat across from the nice woman at the reception desk of my new doctor’s office in the new city where my husband and I recently moved. You know the drill: filling out the paperwork, answering the standard written and verbal questions with the nice receptionist at the intake desk. On […]

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What I’ve Learned from Every Decade in My Life

Carol Bruess — Wed, 26 Dec 2018 16:03:14 +0000

Yep, I just turned 50. And I’ve never felt better! Actually, that’s quite a load of BS. The knees are aching, unnamed parts are sagging, eyebrows are thinning, and I have a chemical addiction: to my hair colorist. Oh, and there’s my new best friend? Her name is Martha migraine. Say wha? You don’t name […]

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My Favorite Books and Podcasts for Making (and Keeping) Better Relationships

Carol Bruess — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 15:00:15 +0000

It may or may not be true that one of my go-to wedding gifts—before I may or may not have heard the gasps and witnessed the expressions of horror by newlyweds upon unwrapping—was the book “What Predicts Divorce.” I mean, hey: If you’re going to be in a successful, until-death-do-us-you-know-what type of relationship, you should […]

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Why Marriage is Hard at First When You Have Little Ones

Carol Bruess — Fri, 03 Aug 2018 15:00:14 +0000

Out of the corner of my eye I catch the evening sun refracting a delightful pattern off the equally-delightful-tasting bottle of rosé, one soon-to-be happily an empty bottle, mindfully consumed by my friend and me—a beautiful scene on a dreamy summer evening on the back patio surrounded by the lush gardens of her and her […]

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Do We Expect More Out of Marriage Now than Ever Before?

Carol Bruess — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 15:00:28 +0000

The last few years were a bit rough in the work department. Literally, as in my department at the university where I worked. The centrifugal force of negativity and warring factions was, at times, so overpowering – so overwhelming – I’d arrive home needing to either unload every nuance of every conversation on my spouse […]

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Are You Lonely in a Partnership or Marriage?

Carol Bruess — Mon, 14 May 2018 15:00:58 +0000

About my soaring, loving marriage of 26 years (5 months and 17 days—but who’s counting), people often say: “You’re soooo lucky!” Sorry folks. It’s not called luck; it’s called hard work. And it’s the best and most rewarding type of labor in the land—that of co-creating a partnership or marriage steeped in friendship, mutual adoration, […]

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We Asked an Expert – Is Our Unhealthy Obsession with Smartphones Affecting Our Relationships?

Carol Bruess — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 15:00:10 +0000

No, I’m not one of those people. I’m not a tech-basher, tech nay-sayer, nor am I an “oh-my-gawd-tech-is-ruining-an-entire-generation!” kind of gal. Yes, I’m in love with my Apple Watch, upgraded to iPhone X within moments of its release, and am probably an over-sharer on FB, Insta, and SnapChat (thanks for the feedback, kids). But what […]

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