A mismatch can adversely affect your relationship. — My father is an entrepreneur and I unintentionally absorbed a lot of lessons from him as I was growing up. One that I keep coming back to is the idea in business that you can pick any two of the following three, but you don’t get to have all three. …

Aligned core values will help more than any amount of talking. — People often tell us that more communication can improve a relationship, and while this is true in some situations — e.g., speaking up about your true feelings, vs holding it in and quietly seething and resenting your partner — it’s not a blanket truth. What happens when you and your…

It’s worse when it’s a complete surprise. — What is “the truth?” How do you know what’s true and what is not? Can something be true for you, but not objectively truthful? Is truth found in how you feel about something? Or is it in how you perceive something to be, regardless of other people’s perceptions? When truth…

Without all five, your relationship is going to struggle. — You may already know this, but I am a pastry chef. Part of what I do on the regular is to create new recipes, ones which I hope will both nourish and delight my consumer. So it’s no surprise that I often see components of a part as the intended…

How past generations thought about relationships differs from how we do now. — My friend Aaron has a theory that romantic relationships really started becoming undermined around 2007, with the advent of the iPhone. Suddenly, each person had a private computer in their pocket that was with them all the time. …

Where winning means potentially finding a loving relationship — My friend Katrina is an experienced online dater, and while she now has a long-term boyfriend, she enjoyed trying out dating apps when she was single. When I was post-breakup (and thought I was ready to date, though I clearly wasn’t), she sat me down and gave me some advice…

If you want your marriage to thrive, you have to tend it just right. — The world feels heavy right now. Beyond what is happening economically and politically, beyond all the deaths. So many relationships I know are going through transitions, or breaking apart. My friend Nina’s is one such relationship. She has been married to her husband Ty for 18 years, but for at…

Vacation selves are not always our best selves. — Travel — especially when you’re in a foreign country where your first language is not the dominant language spoken — can be stressful. If you’re not at ease in your visiting country’s language, even something as simple as making a purchase or asking directions can be mentally taxing. …

Some of life’s best moments come in the unplanned spaces — Creativity needs space to blossom. If your mind is constantly whirring or you’re endlessly scrolling, you aren’t giving yourself that space. Just like relaxation doesn’t come on the inhale, when we are drawing air into our lungs, but happens on the exhale when we can let go, inspiration doesn’t usually hit when we are busy…