Great marriages aren’t about clear communication – they’re about small moments of attachment and intimacy.

— Dr. John Gottman, Founder of The Gottman Institute

“Big life changes are made in small, manageable chunks.”

― Sarah Knight, Get Your Sh*t Together: How to Stop Worrying About What You Should Do So You Can Finish What You Need to Do and Start Doing What You Want to Do

“People don’t come preassembled, but are glued together by life.” The circuitry in your brain is shaped by the specific experiences you’ve had, and it can be changed as a result of your continuing experiences.”

― Catherine M. Pittman, Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry

“When we recite our relationship vows, perhaps we should say, “I take you as my pain in the rear, with all your history and baggage, and I take responsibility for all prior injustices you endured at the hands of those I never knew, because you now are in my care.”

― Stan Tatkin, Wired for Love: How Understanding Your Partner’s Brain and Attachment Style Can Help You Defuse Conflict and Build a Secure Relationship

“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.”

― Brené Brown, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

“Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.” 

–Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers)