This Simple Relationship Exercise Promotes Forgiveness And Understanding

Posted on August 4, 2016

Focusing on the future can help couples deal with relationship conflicts, new research finds.

When people imagined how they would feel in one year’s time, they thought and felt better about their relationships.

Mr Alex Huynh, the lead author of the study, said:

“When romantic partners argue over things like finances, jealousy, or other interpersonal issues, they tend to employ their current feelings as fuel for a heated argument. By envisioning their relationship in the future, people can shift the focus away from their current feelings and mitigate conflicts.”

For the study, people thought back to a recent conflict with a friend or romantic partner. One group thought about how they felt in the moment. Another group imagined how they would feel one year in the future. Both groups then wrote about their relationships. An analysis of the text showed that thinking about the future had positive effects.

The trick of giving yourself a little psychological distance has all sorts of other benefits. It can help you generate self-insight, gain emotional control, improve self-control and even trigger wise thoughts.

To read the full article, click the link below.


Category(s):Relationships & Marriage

Source material from Psyblog