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To understand your spouse you've got to walk in his or her shoes.

Ever feel like you're stepping on each other's toes? Then maybe it's time you put yourselves in each other's shoes. Of course that may sound uncomfortable. But it's easier than you think--and it will revolutionize your relationship. In fact, bestselling authors Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott reveal the little-known secrets of putting the time-tested strategy of trading places to work in your own marriage.

In this book, chock-full of practical helps and tips you've never thought of, you'll learn the three-step-strategy to trading places and, as a result, you're sure to:


· Increase your levels of passion
· Bolster your commitment
· Eliminate nagging
· Short-circuit conflict
· Double your laughter
· Forgive more quickly
· Talk more intimately


In short, you'll be more understanding and better understood. In other words, you'll experience--day after day--the unconditional love every couple longs for.

“We've often fantasized about being able to literally hand a box of mutual empathy--the revolutionary tool for instantly improving a relationship--to the couples that attend our seminars. Well, this book is the closest we'll ever come to being able to do just that.”
--Les and Leslie Parrott

Most couples never discover the rewards of trading places. For example, did you know it's the quickest way to get your own needs met? It's true! And Les and Leslie show you how. They also disclose exactly how trading places improves your conversations and how it's guaranteed to fire up your sex life. Truly, your love life and your entire marriage will never be the same after you learn the intimate dance of trading places.

This book also features a powerful, free online assessment, powered by eHarmony Marriage that instantly improves your inclination to trade places. How? By zeroing in on exactly what you'd most like your spouse to accurately understand about you. In addition, two workbooks with no-nonsense exercises--one for you and one for your spouse--will help you apply each chapter to your own marriage.

Les and Leslie have made it easy. So why not walk a few steps in your spouse's shoes, starting today? Whether you're a newlywed couple or you've been married for decades, it's never too early or too late to attain the power of trading places.

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Trading Places

Zondervan

Contents

Acknowledgments...................................................................................11Walking in Your Partner's Shoes...................................................................13PART ONEThe Essentials of Trading Places..................................................................191. The Two Sides of Trading Places................................................................232. What Trading Places Will Do for Your Marriage..................................................393. The Prerequisite for Trading Places............................................................59PART TWOThree Crucial Steps to Trading Places.............................................................774. I Notice You: Setting Aside Your Own Agenda (Temporarily)......................................815. I Feel with You: Turning on Your Emotional Radar...............................................976. I Act to Help You: Demonstrating Your Care Quotient............................................115PART THREETwo Great Ways to Trade Places More Quickly.......................................................1297. Take the eHarmony Marriage Program.............................................................1338. Help Your Spouse See Your Side.................................................................141Conclusion: Why Every Couple Has a Chance at Trading Places.......................................157APPENDIXESAppendix A: How to Trade Places When Your Spouse Doesn't Want To..................................169Appendix B: Trading Places If You've Been Burned: A Message for Personalizers.....................173Appendix C: Mini Thesaurus of Feeling Words.......................................................181Notes.............................................................................................191

Chapter One

If there is any great secret of success in life, it lies in the ability to put yourself in the other person's place and to see things from his point of view - as well as your own. Henry Ford

"Before you leave this auditorium, we want you to pick up a small bottle you'll find on a table in the foyer. Open it once you get home and pour it on your relationship. It's a bottle of empathy."

We've often dreamed of being able to say something like this to the groups of couples who come to our marriage seminars. Wouldn't it be terrific if trading places could be just that easy; if you could open a bottle and apply some kind of ointment to your marriage, and then instantly enjoy the relief and pleasure that come from mutual empathy?

How much would you pay for a bottle? It's a moot question, of course. Empathy is not a tangible commodity you can pick up at a local drugstore. But it is an invaluable asset. If it were sold in a retail outlet, we think it would probably be offered at only the finest of stores, and probably kept in a vault. Why? Because empathy is precious and rare. Its value is impossible to calculate.

Think of the rewards you'd reap in your relationship if you could, at any given moment, instantly apply a dose of mutual empathy to your interaction. Imagine how it would improve your ability to make decisions together, to work as a team, overcome hardship, achieve goals, and enjoy physical intimacy. In short, imagine how a ready measure of mutual empathy would elevate your happiness and forever join your spirits.

If you could both see the world from each other's point of view, instantly and routinely, what would your marriage look like? In other words, what would you use your bottle of instant empathy to accomplish in your marriage?

empathy ('em-pa-the): The identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives.

We can tell you how we'd answer that question.

Our marriage would have more laughter and less bickering. We'd use our bottle of empathy to become more adept at reading one another. We'd offer each other more care and comfort. We'd use it to create a warm emotional space while playing together with our kids. With an abundance of mutual empathy, we'd have fewer hurt feelings and a lot more fun. We'd have conversations that required little effort and afforded us moments of deep understanding. We'd be more thoughtful. More protective. More considerate. More indulgent of each other's quirks. Less judgmental and a lot more perceptive. We'd use instant empathy when we needed to lay down our pride and become more patient with each other. And when trying to muster the courage to apologize or ask forgiveness, we'd offer each other an abundance of grace. We'd never spend a minute letting the other feel left out or scared. We'd give more compliments. We'd show more gratitude. With more empathy, we'd dare to dream bigger dreams together. We'd share our secret hopes. We'd hold each other longer and more frequently. We'd kiss more passionately. We'd smile at each other more often. In short, if we could instantly and routinely apply a dose of mutual empathy to our marriage whenever we chose, we'd have more love.

Make no mistake - empathy is at the heart of love. No other practice can do more for your marriage than empathy. Yet too many couples neglect it at their peril. Why? Because they've never learned the secret to putting it into practice. And that's exactly what we intend to reveal to you through this chapter.

The secret is found in your head and in your heart. Literally.

Brain-to-Brain and Heart-to-Heart

We recently sat around an ordinary conference table in Southern California with six of the most prestigious relationship researchers in the country. The group was called together by Dr. Galen Buckwalter. Our purpose? To share our thoughts on what some are calling the new science of "neural calculus."

Now, before we lose you at the very utterance of this mind-numbing phrase, hang in there for just a moment.

We're not about to give you a heady lesson on social neuroscience. We simply want you to know that what you are about to learn in this book is new. Sure, empathy is as old as time, but not the way we're going to look at it. Why? Because something new and exciting is beginning to brew in some of the most respected university research laboratories in North America. It's not a cure for a biological disease, but it just may be a cure for whatever's ailing your marriage. And it promises to be revolutionary. We don't say that glibly. We genuinely believe that you are about to learn the rudiments of a practice that will positively impact your marriage in countless ways. It's a proven fact.

You see, until now, neuroscience has studied just one brain at a time. But now two are being analyzed at once, unveiling a never-before-seen neural duet between the brains of a husband and wife as they interact. That's what's meant by the phrase "neural calculus." So why does this matter? Because this emerging new science holds startling implications for your marriage. It holds revolutionary secrets for bonding the two of you brain-to-brain and heart-to-heart - quite literally.

In fact, Carl Marci of Harvard...