Relationships are challenging. How to have a close and meaningful relationship with your partner is not something that most or probably any of us were ever taught in school, and some of us have few, if any, good role models to emulate.

It has been said that how we behave in our intimate relationships today is often a reflection of our parents and how they behaved towards one another in their relationship. This statement will vary from individual to individual but for myself, in some instances at least, it is alarmingly accurate. Through the years I have demonstrated many of the same marital blunders as my father.

My father is not to blame, however, and neither is his father or his father’s father. And if you are in a similar situation your father isn't at fault either. Remember, most of us have never been specifically taught how to have a successful and fulfilling marriage including your father.

Powerful relationships don't just happen by chance. And the couples living them don't take them for granted. They are fully present, all of the time, and they have learned the skills that are required to succeed in a relationship. When you see a married couple that has a healthy meaningful relationship, the odds are if their happiness is authentic, that they will have many other powerful relationships in their lives as well. It is almost as if they have cracked the code on relationship skills.

If you are listening to this podcast you are most likely here learning or honing those very skills, never taught to us anywhere else. Those skills are required to have a successful, meaningful, and purposeful relationship.

Understanding the most common behaviors that damage relationships can be a good first step to having a powerful lasting marriage.

See how many of these behaviors seem familiar, either in yourself or your partner. Which ones of these do you excel at and which ones should you focus more attention on?

Leading with integrated masculine energy!