"You care about the dogs more than me."
My partner said this to me the other day: "You care more about the dogs than me." Her exact words. She was standing there watching me clean up after them for the third time that day. My first instinct was to get defensive. I wanted to say: "Every decision I make is with you in mind." "I look after the dogs so you don't have to worry about them." "I manage our entire household so you can chase your dreams." I didn’t say any of those things, though… Because I knew that was my defence mechanism kicking in. And after decades of relationship work... I know its defensiveness pushes people apart. Always. So instead, I paused and asked myself a simple question: "Will what I'm about to say bring us closer together or push us further apart?" Then I shifted my approach completely. "I can see how it looks that way from your perspective," I told her. "I understand you need to feel connected right now." "You know that's not true though, right? No one's more important in my life than you." "How can I help you feel reconnected in this moment? I'll put everything down." The energy between us changed instantly. I mention it because I was sharing this exact story during one of my recent Relationship You Deserve coaching calls... Because taking 100% ownership is something most people struggle with. They think it means being weak. They think it means being subservient. They think it means saying "it's all my fault." But that's not what ownership is about at all. Taking 100% ownership isn't weak. It isn't subservient. It's actually a position of tremendous strength. When you take ownership instead of getting defensive, problems and conflicts get handled faster. Most people live at "effect" - blaming others, thinking "if only they would change, everything would be fine." But relationship masters live at "cause" - taking responsibility for their part in every interaction. This shift in perspective is what makes relationship coaching so powerful. You're giving people a new lens to see their interactions through.