But this guy couldn't believe that he could talk for literally hours straight and not get that I was like shutting down, checking out, triggered, beyond belief, pissed off, wanting to punch him in the face. the Hi, what's going on? My name's Jason Gattis. Welcome back to the Smart Couple Podcast,

episode 75. Wow, three quarters of the way to 100 episodes. Yikes, That's pretty exciting. I'm grateful to have your ears. If you're new or returning as a listener, either way, welcome, welcome back, and this is going to be a good one. I could feel it.

What the hell do we do here at the Smart Couple Podcast? Well, we interview relationship teachers, students, couples, and my wife and I talk about how to have a great relationship.

Okay? And, okay, it sounds simple, but here's the program. I underline this point every episode I think, which is that relationship is hard. It's challenging

Imagine living with one person most of your life or for 20 years, that gets very challenging because the person triggers parts of

you, you'd rather not the rest of the world see. You behave in ways that are embarrassing and childish.

The mind chatter that goes on when you're judging your partner is sometimes impossible to understand.

And at the same time you're convinced that you're right and your way is better than your partner.

All of this kind of shit goes on in a long-term relationship. And if you're not halfway awake to it, it can destroy your relationship over time.

If you believe and get fused to your story about your partner

and even your story about yourself and how you can't do it or you're such a piece of shit or whatever your story is about you or

them your relationship is going to tank. So here at the Smart Couple Podcast, my job is to teach you tools, practical tools that work to give you an edge in your relationship, not as a way to win over your partner but as a way to have you both win.

The only kind of relationship I ever want to be in is win-win. Now that doesn't mean it's win-lose sometimes.

Yeah, sometimes it feels like win-lose. My wife wins, I lose. Sometimes it feels

that way and that's fuel for me to get to win-win.

Honey I feel like I'm losing over here. Let's try to do this again and our job is to help each other reach win-win. And one of the tools

we use is negotiation. We communicate and we're excellent communicators.

So, you know, it doesn't take us that long.

Okay, so I'm going to share with you lots and lots of tools, tricks, tips, techniques, and just straightforward ideas that you can try in your

own relationship.

Okay?

Now, here at the smart couple, once in a while we do a little contest I want to

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