A Journey Together: Love in Focus

Ever wonder how some couples seem to withstand the test of time while others crumble under the pressure? Tune into our latest episode where we're celebrating National Couples Day and sharing the secrets behind nurturing a strong and lasting relationship. Drawing from my personal journey of being happily married for 15 years and together for 28 years, I'll reveal the importance of faith, communication, and dedicated time, and how these factors play a critical role in creating a bond that truly lasts.

This episode promises to be a stimulating blend of personal insights, empowering tips, and a chance to learn about how you to can nurture your relationship.

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Chapters

• 0:09 Maintaining a Strong Relationship
• 14:12 Women's Equality Day

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:09

Welcome to season two of the Infusion podcast. My name is Teresa and I am your host. I'm excited to be back for another season. The goal of this podcast is to help women and young girls fill up their cups. Oftentimes, we are so focused on helping and supporting others that we forget to take care of ourselves too. My mission is to spread love and joy through movement, education and motivation.

Speaker 1: 0:32

Today we are celebrating National Couples Day. The official day was this past Friday, august the 18th, so I wanted to dedicate today's episode to couples. So what is National Couples Day? Well, according to livementcom, an online newspaper publication, national Couples Day is a special occasion that is celebrated with enthusiasm across the world. National Couples Day is celebrated annually in the United States on August the 18th. It is a day dedicated to honoring the love and lasting bond shared by couples. It's also an opportunity to acknowledge the love, companionship and partnership that couples share. This celebration encourages couples to spend quality time together, express their affection and strengthen their emotional bonds. Now, you guys know I love all the national days, but if it is my belief that if you are in a marriage or in a committed romantic relationship, you should be celebrating your love and partnership daily, not just on an annual national day.

Speaker 1: 1:32

So I went ahead and looked up some information on the benefits of being in a couple or being in a romantic relationship, being in a marriage, and this is what I found. The five benefits that you can receive from being in a couple are number one you can experience deeper connections. What does that mean? When people are in a couple, they've taken time to build a trusting relationship that encourages deeper bonds and meaningful connections between people. Number two intimacy is strengthened. When you're in a committed relationship, couples cultivate a deeper level of intimacy, both physically and emotionally, I agree. Also, being in a relationship or being a couple reduces stress. Now, how does that happen? Because couples provide emotional support for each other. Especially during times of stress or when you're going through a sad moment or maybe you are anxious about something that's coming up, you have someone you can lean on for support, so that makes it easier for you to manage and cope through those difficult situations.

Speaker 1: 2:40

Next, being in a couple leads to improved physical health. Relationships can lead to changes in lifestyle and boost physical health. Studies have found that people and relationships have seen improvements in their overall physical health because you guys are feeding off of each other. So, if I know, my husband is working on getting healthy and losing weight, or vice versa, we're going to support each other and cheer each other on, and eventually we're going to be doing it together because it makes more sense, right? Lastly, couples can support your career goals. Studies have found that couples can provide emotional and practical support when collaborating for larger career goals. People that are in relationships often experience increased job satisfaction. So all of these benefits are great, but they don't come without hard work, compromise and sacrifice.

Speaker 1: 3:29

My husband and I have been married for 15 years, but we started our relationship back in high school. So for the past 28 years we've shared so many ups and so many downs and in between right, we did split up earlier in our relationship and then we decided it was worth it to give it another try. And here we are, almost three decades later. So how did we get to the space that we're in now? When I asked my husband what he feels are the two main reasons why we've stayed together so long, his response was have you ever thought about starting your own podcast? Do you like to talk to people? Do you have something to share with the world? Well, if that is you, just like I was. I was so confused, didn't know where to start, what tools to use, what tools I needed, but I'm so excited to be partnering with Buzz Sprouts. They help me kickstart my podcast. They have all of the resources that you need, both in written form and also YouTube tutorials, and if you sign up for their paid plan, you will receive a $20 credit if you use the link in my profile bio and you will also be helping to support the Infusion podcast.

Speaker 1: 4:33

His response was, first and foremost, the divine spirit of the Most High and, secondly, his desire and love for me and the family we've created. I would definitely have to agree with him. We believe in a higher divine power that is guiding our every step in life, and because of that spirit that lives within us, we've been given the courage to work through whatever obstacles come our way. Some of those obstacles have been very small feats. Others have been much larger and have taken a lot of communication and changes to get through. So we wanted to share a couple of tips that have worked for us. May not work for you, but we want to share what has worked for us.

Speaker 1: 5:12

Number one keep other people out of your business. This was hard for me at first, because I love to talk, I love to share, but you got to keep your personal, private relationship business to yourself. Don't allow others to dictate your relationship. That means if you are going to share with them information, you have to be ready to receive their opinion on the information that you're sharing. Once you start sharing your relationship wins or losses, you basically give them permission to give their input.

Speaker 1: 5:45

Many times when your friends or family members haven't experienced being in a genuinely content relationship, they tend to find ways to pick at your relationships and sometimes you let them get into your head. You're listening to what they're telling you and then you're questioning your relationship. So if you want to share, keep it basic and keep it short. Number two speak up. If you want your partner to know how you're feeling, what you need or don't need, you have to say something at some point in your relationship. You and your partner are going to learn how to read each other's body language, your tone, but none of us are mind readers, so we can't possibly know exactly what the other person is feeling if we don't communicate. Alright, so communication is key.

Speaker 1: 6:33

Tip number three make time to spend time. I'm going to read that again. Make time to spend time. We all get busy. Life is hectic. We some of us have kids, we work, we have side hustles, hobbies, etc. But it is important to make time for your significant other. My husband and I book monthly date nights to ensure that we have time to spend alone with one another outside of our everyday lives. These date nights are not always outside of our home, because sometimes that's challenging. So what we do is set up candlelight dinners in our second living room, and our kids are at an age right now where they are self-sufficient, with the exception of our daughter. So we just make sure that she's set and she has everything she needs. Before we start our date, we put away our cell phones, put on some music and we take that time to tune in to each other, even if it's just for an hour or an hour and a half. Whatever time you have, you need to set that aside just for the two of you. Home dates are so easy to coordinate and our kids are very supportive and they allow us this time without any distractions.

Speaker 1: 7:39

Next tip number four support each other's aspirations. You have to be your significant other's biggest supporter. Now, as I mentioned earlier, studies have found that couples can provide emotional and practical support when collaborating for larger career goals, people in relationships often experience increased job satisfaction, so the support is key. The support not only applies to corporate career aspirations, but it also applies to entrepreneurial aspirations. Many people believe that the only way to make a living in this world is to work for someone else. However, being small business owners ourselves, we know differently. Now I do have to admit that, based on my upbringing, working in corporate America was all I knew, but because of my husband and his upbringing, his hustler's mentality, I've been enlightened to the entrepreneur space. It is because of my husband that I found the courage to start this podcast and share what is in my heart with others. I've learned to step outside of my comfort zone of only being in a corporate setting All right. So support is key.

Speaker 1: 8:49

Our last tip would be compromise. We can't have it our way like Burger King all the damn time. There's going to be times when you and your significant other schedules, ideas, way of doing things clash. What helps us? We talk it out. We weigh out the pros and cons of our different points of views, how they will impact each other individually how they will impact us as a couple and how they will impact us as a family. Then, based on that, we come to an agreement and we make a decision. Now, sometimes it's not a win-win for both of us. One of us has to take the loss right.

Speaker 1: 9:25

So if you've been following me, you know that I teach group fitness. There are many events, training, all the things that come up, and I want to participate in everything. But I've had to pass up on several of them because it wasn't the right time, the best use of our finances or for many other reasons. When I first started my group fitness journey, I would get upset when my husband would recommend that I pass up on several of them because it wasn't the right time, the best use of our finances or for many other reasons. My husband would recommend that I pass up on some things. But I had to realize that my time is also his time and our family time that I'm taking away from. I had to become more selective in which opportunities I chose to participate in to accommodate our schedule as a whole. So you can't be selfish. You've got to compromise. My husband makes the most sacrifice of his time in this relationship and I am forever grateful for it. I'm continually working very hard to balance out my crazy, busy, spontaneous love of life, fitness and concerts, because y'all that know me, y'all know I want to be everywhere, right? So those are our five tips that we wanted to share, but I'm also going to share some tips that I found that were shared by the University of Colorado Boulder Health and Wellness Services. So those five tips from the University of Colorado, for basically five essential tips for a healthy relationship, is what the article is called Number one communication. Now let me back up and say that they are recommending these whether you're dating, married or just figuring it out, right? So whatever your category is, five tips from the University of Colorado, number one communication.

Speaker 1: 11:04

One of a hallmark of a healthy relationship is the ability for partners to communicate openly with each other about how they're feeling. We've already covered that one. Also, this is an important step in building empathy and compassion for one another. Alright, number two feeling heard. Having someone to listen to us and feeling heard is important In a healthy relationship. Both people should feel relatively comfortable bringing up issues, expressing themselves and listening to one another. While not every conversation is going to be easy, both partners should feel that they will be listened to and understood.

Speaker 1: 11:44

Number three disagreements, disagreements and conflicts are normal in any relationship. It's common to have different preferences, beliefs, values from our significant others. In some cases, conflict can be a sign that something needs to change within a relationship. Many times, couples who ignore or avoid conflict face increased risk and tension of unmet needs. However, the couple's way to respond to conflict is more important than the conflict itself. So work it out, talk it out. Don't let the conflict fester.

Speaker 1: 12:19

Number four mutual intimacy. Healthy relationships allow space for mutual intimacy and connection. This means partners are able to establish healthy boundaries and talk openly about their emotional and physical desires, as well as what that looks like for them and their relationship. This includes talking about sex what you want, don't want, what feels good, what doesn't. These types of conversation require attention and regular check in with your partners. So don't let it go unsaid. If something's not working out, talk it out. Talk it out, talk it out. I'm going to keep saying that.

Speaker 1: 12:58

Number five trust. It is important to maintain relationships outside of your relationships in order to have a strong support system. In healthy relationships, significant others trust one another. Trust is about knowing that someone will do what they say. It can also mean that each person in the relationship feels free to spend time with other people in their life, like friends and family. A relationship can become unhealthy when one person feels jealous every time their partner talks to or spend time with other people in their life. So you have to trust one another, set up those boundaries, whatever they may be, for your relationship, but you have to have trust that when your partner goes out and hangs out with their friends or the family members, they're doing what they're supposed to be doing, and the same goes for you. So those are the five tips in summary from the University of Colorado Boulder Health and Wellness Services. So, to sum it up, relationships take a lot of fucking work right In order for them to last. You got to put in the work. Don't let anyone tell you it's easy, because they are lying to your face. Being in a relationship is definitely worth the fight, the tears, the smiles, the memories and every ounce of love.

Speaker 1: 14:12

Tune in next week as we dive into women's equality. August 26 is another national day. You guys already know this. August 26 is national women's equality day. So we're going to discuss the history behind this day, present day, women's equality and more. You have been listening to the infuse you podcast. I hope that something was said today that will help you along your life journey. Until next time, continue to do you, be you, infuse you and be blessed.