Mrs Calloway’s Reviews > Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love > Status Update

- trust is cherishing each other and showing your partner that you can be counted on
- everyday commitment = you invest emotionally everything you have in this relationship
- if things are not going well, you voice these to your partner, rather than complaining to somebody else
- you cherish what you have and nurture gratitude

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5. Explain and examine any feelings that were triggered during incident but were originally felt long before incident
6. Each partner assesses how they contributed to the event and their level of accountability.
7. Each apologises and accepts the others apology.
8. You make a plan together to prevent this from happening again.

How to repair a break in trust:
1. Set a specific rim and place to talk
2. Each partner names the feelings they experienced during the breach in trust, without blame or criticism
3. The receiving partner listens without judgment or feedback
4. Each person describes their view about what happened during the incident without blame or criticism while other person tries to listen and empathise
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The four skills of intimate conversation:
1. Put into words what you are feeling (I am agitated, happy)
2. Ask your partner open-ended questions (how do you feel?)
3. Make exploratory statements to help open up your partners feeling and needs (tell me the story, I am listening)
4. Express tolerance, empathy and understanding towards your partner (I understand how you feel, I’m on your side)

A date night is more than an obligation. It’s a commitment to your relationship to your hopes for a happy marriage

The goal is to have a special date once a week and make that a priority in your relationship

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- rituals of connection (dates)
- maximise the positive and minimise the negative
- an overall perceived negativity will erode the relationship
- couples need to be on the same side

Couples most likely to have the happiest marriages show the following characteristics when they talk about their relationship:
- fondness, affection, admiration
- emphasise the good times
- compliment their partner
- ability to communicate well and their mutual togetherness
- positive and energetic talking about their relationship
- express intimate information about themselves
- express pride passing challenges