31 Cheap and Fun Date Ideas for Couples - Part 1 of 2

BY AMANDA BRADBURY

Spending quality time together with another person doesn’t need to cost that much, after all love doesn’t cost anything. Sometimes the most fun you’ll ever experience costs little to nothing. If you’re low on money or just tired of the same kind of dates over and over again, then try these ideas for a fun inexpensive change of pace.

 1. Go on a virtual vacation together.

Take a 3-D virtual tour around the world together with 360 Cities. Pick a different city to explore once a month together. You could even plan out a vacation together; even if you don’t go, it’s still fun to plan something together and spend time finding out what you and your partner would like to do or see.

2. Watch funny YouTube videos.

Compile a list of funny YouTube videos to share together or take a look at some lists people have already put together online: YouTube’s 50 Best Videos according to Time magazine, Top 20 YouTube Videos, 50 Funniest YouTube Videos of All Time.

3. Stargaze while laying on a blanket outside.

Grab a blanket and go outside in your yard, snuggle up together with some hot chocolate and watch for shooting stars. Use the free Sky Map app to see which constellations and planets you’re looking at in the night sky in front of you. This is an especially great idea whenever there’s a meteor shower to watch.

 4. Grab some water guns at your local dollar store and have a water gun fight.

Or you could always opt for water balloons and pelt each other with them. This is a fun outdoor activity in which you can play hide and seek, run around like kids, and generally have a fun time.

 5. Picnic at a local park.

Pack a lunch for the two of you and be sure to bring some bread to feed the ducks if there’s a pond. Enjoy a nice day outside walking around the park and pick a spot to sit down and share lunch. You could even bring a game along to play after you’ve enjoyed the park.

6. Game night with stakes.

Have a game night with stakes set ahead of time. The stakes could be anything you want, like something your partner has to do for you if they lose, or it could be something around the house, like they have to do all the chores for a week, or perhaps something a little frisky, like they have to undress for you and do as you say. You could play anything, a game of cards, board games, or even a video game.

 7. Share a milkshake, a Frosty, cookies, dessert or some other snack.

Grab just dessert together somewhere. It could be a cheap Frosty from Wendy’s, a milkshake that you share with two straws, two cookies, or a large piece of pie. Grab something that both of you like and split it with each other. Remember whipped cream on top of anything makes it even better. You could even go to the store and grab a small dessert or ice cream to indulge in together.

8. Have a spa night at home giving each other a massage.

Be sure to include candles, massage oil, and essential oils. Feathers make for a great add-on to a massage; just rub them over your partner before, during, or after the massage.

9. At home themed dinner and a movie night.

Choose which cuisine you and your partner would like to make together (Mexican, Italian, Asian, Thai, etc.) and pick a dish to make at home. Watch a free movie at home using Popcorn Time, or Hulu or Netflix if you have a subscription, or pick up a movie from Redbox (you can get codes for free or discounted rentals all the time).

10. Write a piece of fiction together.

Sit at a coffee shop or at home together and take turns writing lines.

 11. Volunteer together.

Make DIY homeless care kits or volunteer with a local organization.

 12. Do something together outdoors like walking, running, hiking, biking, or swimming.

Get outside and get some sunshine and fresh air together. Being active together and/or exercising together can help both of you.

13. Movie marathon weekend.

Pick a trilogy or a series to watch and marathon it all weekend.

 Source:

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/31-cheap-and-fun-date-ideas-for-couples-2.html

7 Solutions That Can Save a Relationship - part 1 of 3

Rocky road? Get your love life back on track

By Carol Sorgen

It's the rare couple that doesn't run into a few bumps in the road. If you recognize ahead of time, though, what those relationship problems might be, you'll have a much better chance of getting past them.

Even though every relationship has its ups and downs, successful couples have learned how to manage the bumps and keep their love life going. They hang in there, tackle problems, and learn how to work through the complex issues of everyday life. Many do this by reading self-help books and articles, attending seminars, going to counseling, observing other successful couples, or simply using trial and error.

Relationship Problem: Communication

All relationship problems stem from poor communication, according to Elaine Fantle Shimberg, author of Blending Families. "You can't communicate while you're checking your BlackBerry, watching TV, or flipping through the sports section," she says.

Problem-solving strategies:

·         Make an actual appointment with each other. If you live together, put the cell phones on vibrate, put the kids to bed, and let voicemail pick up your calls.

·         If you can't "communicate" without raising your voices, go to a public spot like the library, park, or restaurant where you'd be embarrassed if anyone saw you screaming.

·         Set up some rules. Try not to interrupt until your partner is through speaking, or ban phrases such as "You always ..." or "You never ...."

·         Use body language to show you're listening. Don’t doodle, look at your watch, or pick at your nails. Nod so the other person knows you're getting the message, and rephrase if you need to. For instance, say, "What I hear you saying is that you feel as though you have more chores at home, even though we're both working." If you're right, the other can confirm. If what the other person really meant was, "Hey, you're a slob and you create more work for me by having to pick up after you," he or she can say so, but in a nicer way.

Relationship Problem: Sex

Even partners who love each other can be a mismatch, sexually. Mary Jo Fay, author of Please Dear, Not Tonight, says a lack of sexual self-awareness and education worsens these problems. But having sex is one of the last things you should give up. "Sex," Fay says, "brings us closer together, releases hormones that help our bodies both physically and mentally, and keeps the chemistry of a healthy couple healthy."

Problem-solving strategies:

·         Plan, plan, plan. Fay suggests making an appointment, but not necessarily at night when everyone is tired. Maybe during the baby's Saturday afternoon nap or a "before-work quickie." Ask friends or family to take the kids every other Friday night for a sleepover. "When sex is on the calendar, it increases your anticipation," Fay says. Changing things up a bit can make sex more fun, too, she says. Why not have sex in the kitchen? Or by the fire? Or standing up in the hallway?

·         Learn what truly turns you and your partner on by each of you coming up with a personal "Sexy List," suggests California psychotherapist Allison Cohen. Swap the lists and use them to create more scenarios that turn you both on.

·         If your sexual relationship problems can't be resolved on your own, Fay recommends consulting a qualified sex therapist to help you both address and resolve your issues.

Source:

http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/guide/7-relationship-problems-how-solve-them

Mind Power – How To Break Free Of Limiting Beliefs, part 4 of 4

Trainers Box

How To Change Beliefs With Mind Power

1. Become Aware Of Them
If many of our limiting beliefs are unconscious, how on earth can we uncover them? Look around at your life. Your day-to-day life is a graphic portrait of your beliefs. Your limiting beliefs will show up as your fears. Take a look at the following arenas of your life and as you focus on each of them, notice what feelings come up.

Self-Appreciation – How do you feel about yourself? Do you like who you are?

Relationships and Family – Do you enjoy your relationships? Are they deepening and fulfilling for you? Are you able to work through “stuff” as it comes up with those who are close to you?

Creativity, Dreams, Career and Aspirations – Is your heart fulfilled? Do you wake up in the morning excited about what you’re going to do that day? Are you sharing your unique gifts with the world?

Do you wake up excited?

Abundance and Money – Does money flow easily for you? Are you able to comfortably take care of yourself and those you love? Are you able to do the things your heart longs to do?

Did you notice any fears as you read through the list? If so, you’ve identified a limiting belief, or two or ten :-).

For example, as you put your attention on abundance and money, if you feel fear, look closer to see what the thought is that is connected to it. Sometimes the feelings come up so quickly we aren’t aware of the thought, but, trust me, it is there. If there is a feeling, there was a thought that it originated from, even if it flashed past so quickly you didn’t catch it the first time. Use your mind power to ferret it out. Questions can be used as probes. Simply go inside and ask: “What thought is at the source of this fear?” or “What is the belief that this fear comes from?”

This may take some practice but eventually, by inviting and intending clarity, your mind power will show you the thought/belief that is at the base of the fear.

2. Dismantle The Belief
Realize that you haven’t been the victim of some horrible truth that you don’t have control of. Instead, you have simply been terrorizing yourself with your own mind power! The thought form at the base of the big scary fear is actually only a wisp of energy! Without us feeding it with attention, it has no power at all.

Really take this to heart. This is an important step in un-powering and dismantling the belief. Again, these beliefs are really just thought forms. They are not reality and with some effort they can be changed.

3. What Do You Really Want?
Okay, you’ve identified where you are. You’ve gotten honest with yourself and uncovered a negative belief. Now, you need to figure out where you want to go from here and use your mind power to chart your course. Ask yourself, “What do I want in this situation?”

Using the money example above, let’s say that the belief/thought you uncovered was: “I’ll never get ahead.” So, I will assume that what you do want in this situation is to not only “get ahead” but to prosper abundantly. Hey, why not!

4. Bridge The Gap
Usually, we can’t immediately make the leap from a strong negative emotion or belief to a positive one, but using mind power we can incrementally move toward it, and get there one realistic step at a time. We can alter our beliefs by applying new thoughts to the old beliefs until we mold them into that which we prefer. Then we practice the new viewpoint or belief.

If we stop feeding something, it dies. If you stop feeding attention, water and sunlight to your house plant, it will die. Likewise if we stop feeding a limiting belief with our attention and begin feeding a positive, expansive one, the old belief will die and the new one will take root and flourish.

So, back to our example. Now that you’ve clarified what you want, you just need to make a mental bridge from “I’ll never get ahead” to “I am abundantly prosperous.” You build that bridge one thought at a time, using the power of positive thinking. What is very important is that each thought that you choose for your thought-bridge is one that you absolutely believe to be true. If you don’t believe the thought, your Emotional Feedback Guide will give you negative feelings, probably fear, and your “bridge” will collapse.

Using your mind power, reach for a thought that you not only believe on the subject, but one that brings relief and positive feelings. It might be something like, “I’m excited about uncovering this belief that has been holding me back. Now I can do something about it.” Try that out and check in with your Emotional Feedback Guide to see if that piece of your “bridge” is going to hold or not. If it is too big a leap (which you can tell by negative emotions that attend it), then try out another one like, “I know it’s possible to be prosperous, because I see that others have prosperity.”

“The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to its original size.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Once you have your first thought that you believe on the subject that feels good, reach for another one that feels even better, like, “I’m happy that I’m learning these new principles because I sense they can change my life.” From there you might go to “What do I really love doing?” then, “How can I do more of that in my life right now? Okay, I can see the possibility that there is something I could do to create abundance in my life, doing something that I really love doing. I can feel my heart expanding just thinking about it. And I know that that is how I let in abundance, by keeping open to this positive energy as much as I can. Hey, this is starting to feel pretty exciting!”

As long as you keep following any trail of thought that occurs to you that brings a lighter, expanded feeling, with your mind power you will bridge your way to “I am abundantly prosperous,” or maybe “I can be abundantly prosperous doing what I love to do.” Just keep feeding this new bridge of thought whenever the subject comes up in your mind. It is also helpful to set aside reflection time to focus on this process for each belief you uncover.

You build the bridge to where you want to go simply by choosing the direction of your thoughts. There are only two directions for them to go: in a positive direction, which aligns you with your inherent wellbeing, or in a negative one, which blocks you from wellbeing. If you keep looking for and feeding the positive ones, your bridge builds itself!

For more about how your emotions can help you build this bridge to where you want to go, click here.

5. Clear Out The Residue
All of our beliefs were originally set in motion because of things that have happened to us in the past. In conjunction with building a thought bridge to a positive belief, I highly recommend clearing out the energy of the old one, as well as whatever trauma that is related to it. This process is quite easy and is described here.

Preventive Maintenance
Using mind power to uncover and release old limiting beliefs is an ongoing process. For me it certainly is. Besides identifying and cleaning out the old stuff, it is also important to stop new negative beliefs from forming while they are still in the beginning thought stage. Use your Emotional Feedback Guide to notice whenever you begin to feel negative emotion. What I’ve noticed is that the more wellbeing that I experience, the more noticeable it is when I’m feeling “off.” The negativity stands out much more and I’m far less willing to stay stuck in it.

As you go about your day, catch yourself in the act. As soon as you feel negative emotion, stop yourself and use your mind power to trace back to the thought or belief that triggered the negative feeling. As you practice the steps above, they will become easier and more automatic.

Three Levels Of Creation 
As stated before, the first stage of creation begins with our mind power, our thoughts. Then on a more energized level, we create with our words. The forming power of words is much greater than the forming power of just thoughts. Then, on the next level, we create with our actions, even more powerfully than with our words.

Therefore, it is really important to watch your feelings when you talk. I’ve caught myself saying seemingly harmless declarative statements to someone like, “Boy, it’s been tough lately!” or “What a klutz I am!” and I feel all the life force drain right out of me. I can feel the gateway to my wellbeing closing off. That’s a huge tip-off to not continue speaking in that direction of thought. I feel exactly the same debilitating feelings if I say something negative about someone else. This isn’t about being “good” or “bad.” This is about allowing or sabotaging our own precious wellbeing!

Also notice how you feel as you perform different actions. Does that action evoke a positive feeling or a negative one? If it produces a negative one, it’s time to make a course correction.

All of these things – ferreting out and changing limiting beliefs, working with (and not against) your mind power to choose a positive direction of thoughts, words and actions – will make a huge difference in the quality of your life. You will feel more freedom, love and true self-empowerment than you ever knew was available!

Source:

http://trainersboxmedia.weebly.com/mind-power-how-to-break-free-of-limiting-beliefs.html

INNOVATE IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS

DON'T GET STALE

INNOVATE IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS

 posted by Team Tony

  

Did you know that 96% of all companies fail over a ten-year period? And that 40-50% of all first marriages in the United States end in divorce? Why? The reason is the same for both –– they stop marketing and innovating.

Consider this. In business, companies use marketing in order to get potential clients to want to do business with them. Likewise, they use innovation to find a way to meet the needs of the customer better than anyone else. In relationships, it's the same.

You must continuously market and innovate with your partner.

You marketed yourself in the beginning of the relationship, putting your best face forward in order to capture the attention of the potential 'customer.' You also innovated by spending time thinking about what that person would like and how to make them happier than they've ever been.

If you want your relationship to be extraordinary then your job is to unleash every resource you have to light this human being up and make them your raving fan. Get addicted to lighting them up. Get addicted to giving them pleasure!

Think about what you did in the beginning of your relationship in order to meet the needs of your lover and get them to want to be with you. Are you still doing those things?

If you do what you did in the beginning of the relationship there won't be an end.

Extraordinary, loving, intimate relationships don't die for lack of love; they die from lack of intimacy. If you continue to market yourself and to innovate to meet your partner's needs, you'll avoid losing that precious connection that you fought so hard to obtain.

Source:

http://humanelevation.tonyrobbins.com/blog/relationships/dont-get-stale?utm_source=twittter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=20863041&utm_content=Relationships&utm_campaign=Wheel%2Bof%2BLife

Seven Ways to Inspire Love in Your Life - Part 3 of 4

By Traci Porterfield

5. Commit to Positive Changes

Everyone has some part of their life they want to improve . . . the “gaps” that exist between who they are and what they want to be. Some of us focus on it regularly, yet for others, it may not be a priority. When you commit to positive change, big or small, your self-love and acceptance will grow, which in turn provides you with more love to give the world. It is never too late for you to make positive changes and to live the life you envision for yourself.

Take action

Do one thing right now that you’ve been procrastinating or resisting doing. If you’re single and want to meet new people and potential partners, consider joining an online dating website. Or as a smaller step, start collecting some fabulous photos of yourself so that when you are ready, you will have some amazing pictures to choose from. For those who want to make new friends who share an interest in a particular activity, meetup.com is a wonderful resource for finding a group or even starting one of your own.

If you want to nurture your relationship with a spouse or partner, consider how you can be more loving and giving. What lights your partner up? If you don't know for sure, ask. It’s an easy question: “What makes you happy?” And in turn, share what brings you happiness. Take the pressure off your partner by sharing what you like and making it easy for him or her to love you. Also find out what your partner finds romantic or intimate – and share what you like, too. If one person goes to great efforts to prepare something that the other doesn’t even enjoy, the end result can often be disappointment. So talk about it ahead of time. Offer ideas and be open to receiving them. Get excited! It will get you both in the mood for romance and will set the stage for success if you are both on the same page. Remember that we don’t find a relationship that is extraordinary; we create it. Our power lies in our small daily choices, one after another.

Create momentum in your relationships

6. Create Momentum

We can expand love in our life through the power of momentum, taking small steps that build our energy and enthusiasm.  Once we set it in motion, momentum can be an amazing and abundant force for change in our life. How do we get the momentum we need for change that lasts, that inspires and that infuses every day with purpose? We begin today.

Things don’t just happen all at once, they happen gradually. And they progress at an increasing rate as we continue to take steps in the direction of our goals and dreams. We build momentum, and that momentum ultimately takes on a life of its own. It is easier to move if you are already in motion than if you are standing still. Even if you discover that you’re going in the wrong direction, it’s easier to shift course and redirect your flow of energy than to start from scratch.  Also remember that it doesn’t matter where you start; all that matters is that you start.

Take action

What can you do to get some momentum started today? Music is one of the easiest ways to shift your energy quickly, so put on your favorite music and move. Get physically active. Start by setting small, achievable goals. Commit to doing something every day for ten minutes that gets your energy flowing and inspires you. Everyone on this planet can find ten extra minutes, so no excuses! Spend your energy cultivating your own happiness and love. Your inner light will inspire others.

Source: http://www.chopra.com/ccl/seven-ways-to-inspire-love-in-your-life?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=February&utm_content=7%20Ways%20Inspire%20Love#sthash.S32vgmfg.9OwZddH1.dpuf

Tony Robbins - Attracting Your Ultimate Relationship

Three steps to CREATING what you want in your life, with Tony and Sage.

Have you done your list yet?


Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!!!

Elena

Your Six Core Needs - Uncertainty and Variety, part 3 of 7

The second core need of the human being, according to Tony Robbins, is uncertainty. Or variety. It is the need to experience things, feelings, sensations that we haven’t encountered before.

While looking for certainty and settling down keeps us safe, the need for variety – the need to explore, is nature’s mechanism to push us towards development. A child will never grow if it only does the activities it has done before. A relationship will not blossom and move onto its ”next stages” if the partners are not ready to experiment and learn more about the other person. Whether it is food preferences, movie “top 10 list”, music, hiking or the way you kiss, testing new experiences broadens you skills, horizons, and even preferences.

There are two rules in that road of exploration: only create “ecological” experiences, and always share them with your partner. And here is what that means:

Ecological and sustainable are the things and activities that are good for you, good for the others, and good for the greater good! That is, they do not hurt, but only bring benefit to you, your partner and the environment. Some examples? Getting your girlfriend a bunch of flowers, or taking her on a hiking trip (as long as it’s good for her shoes). Giving your boyfriend a massage, or taking him bungee-jumping. Cooking a nice meal and serving it at candle-light. Going to a theme party. Or sharing the latest thing you read in a book/article – for example, facts like “doing exercise helps your body produce endorphins, which in turn make you feel happy.” But, hey, always check what your partner might be interested in. You don’t want to stretch them with new experiences or too much knowledge all at once.

And, rule number two – share! You can either share the experience itself – go to the birthday party of one of your partner’s friends you never met, or a concert, or the new swimming pool in the sports centre. Climb the staircase of a tall building, go to the beach, watch a movie, do a pottery course or cook - together!

Or keep stretching yourselves individually – do a course at uni, apply for a new job, learn a language, go on a business trip. And then share your impressions with the experience, tell them how you felt, what you have learnt – about the new skill, the challenges. And grow together!

As a result you will discover that the thrill you bring to each other can be transferable in all areas of life. And by supporting each other, the stretch is much more enjoyable, and the growth – physical, intellectual, emotional, is much more rewarding when shared.

Elena Alexandrova-Long

Your Coach to Success

www.envisionlifedesign.com.au

What Helps the Man be Consistently Attractive to His Lady

What makes men attractive to women on an ongoing basis? One key ingredient: PRESENCE.

And it's something they need to practise, because the ladies have "difused awareness"... And, no, it's not multitasking.



You might be able to relate to that!
Elena Alexandrova-Long

Tony Robbins - What Helps You Grow Your Business

Tony Robbins - RELATIONSHIP : LOVE : LIFE : PASSION : MINDSET: MONEY

This video sums it all up. There are five disciplines of LOVE and if you want to stand by your partner, and for them to stand by you, make these part of who you are and what you breathe.

Be in the space of UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

It’s Not All about Communication

By Francine Russo

If couples were paying any attention during the past few decades, they should be able to recite the one critical ingredient for a healthy relationship — communication. But the latest study shows that other skills may be almost as important for keeping couples happy.

While expressing your needs and feelings in a positive way to your significant other is a good foundation for resolving conflicts and building a healthy relationship, these skills may not be as strong a predictor of couples’ happiness as experts once thought.

In an Internet-based study involving 2,201 participants referred by couples counselors, scientists decided to test, head to head, seven “relationship competencies” that previous researchers and marital therapists found to be important in promoting happiness in romantic relationships. The idea was to rank the skills in order of importance to start building data on which aspects of relationships are most important to keeping them healthy. In addition to communication and conflict resolution, the researchers tested for sex or romance, stress management, life skills, knowledge of partners and self-management to see which ones were the best predictors of relationship satisfaction.

Not surprisingly, those who reported communicating more effectively showed the highest satisfaction with their relationships. But the next two factors — which were also the only other ones with strong links to couple happiness — were knowledge of partner (which included everything from knowing their pizza-topping preferences to their hopes and dreams) and life skills (being able to hold a job, manage money, etc.).

For today’s couples interested in improving their relationships, say the study’s authors, therapists might consider going back to the basics and incorporating more practical social skills into their discussions. And that may include referring those who lack these skills to money managers or career coaches. “Communication skills are necessary,” says Lisa Neff, couples researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, “but they’re not sufficient when couples are under stress.”

It’s important for couples to know how the outside world — whether they can get a job, whether their kids can play outside safely or go to a good school — will affect their relationship even if they have good life skills and good communication skills. Strong relationships, says Bradbury, recognizes how pressures outside of home and the relationship can influence, and even break down good communication skills.

“Outside,” Bradbury says, “there is a real world that impinges on us.” To deal with it takes not only communication, but also an understanding that even the strongest communication networks among partners can falter and when they’re under this intense external pressure. The strategy he suggests for couples he counsels is to join forces rather than turn away from each other. “It’s not you against each other; it’s you against the world,” he says.

Find the complete article at: http://healthland.time.com/2013/08/16/the-key-to-happy-relationships-its-not-all-about-communication/

Tony Robbins - Relationships

Keep the relationship with your partner honest and stable.

Tony and Sage speak here about five "stressors"  - be aware of them and work on overcoming them, together!

Your Daily Quote - Relationships

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”
C.G. Jung

Your relationships begin with YOU

Hi guys

The over-arching theme of my posts for the next few weeks will be RELATIONSHIPS. And we will start with the most important one of all - your relationship with yourself. Because how you treat yourself is reflected in the way you treat and connect with others, which in its turn is projected in the way others relate to you…

“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance”, said Oscar Wilde.

How well do you know YOU? 

What is your purpose and mission? What inspires you, what makes you tick?

We will focus on values and beliefs, and how they are connected to your perceptions and goals.

How do you get confidence, and how do you persist in order to get a breakthrough?

Share your comments on the articles and videos I select for you on my blog.