One of the great pleasures of relationships is the sense that another person knows us deeply. While we are either ignored or misrepresented by the world, we thrive in knowing our beloved recalls our favourite foods, our traumas, our quirks around travel.
Yet, when we set out to be different or better, our partners often become the jealous guardian of a self we no longer quite identify with. They insist that who we are now claiming to be must be false or deceitful to others, all because it isn’t who we have traditionally been.
The partner isn’t being mean. We are all terrified of the kind of change that will take our people away from us. The reason we get stubborn about a new love of pickles, is that it stands as an awful harbinger of what might be a new love for another person. | | | Guided Journals for What Was, And What Could Be Following the Self-Reflection Journal, the Self-Improvement Journal is the latest in our collection of guided, linen-bound books. By filling out carefully curated daily prompts, the Self-Improvement Journal helps us understand what we truly want, relative inhibitions and the path we must take to get there. | | | In this episode of The Workshop, Alain and John consider the question of whether it's ever really possible to change other people, be they our partners, our friends, our children or our colleagues. They explore why we're so resistant to attempts to 'correct' our behaviour, the role of humour in teaching, and why getting someone to change might be as difficult as climbing K2 in one's slippers. | | | |