Better Wife Better Life

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Relationships are the core of our lives. This is where we often feel the most pain and the most joy. For many of us, we are wanting better experiences with our partners and that begins with us! Better Wife Better Life is about helping and encouraging women to feel empowered to be in healthy relat…

Meredith Riddick

  • May 18, 2020 LATEST EPISODE
  • every other week NEW EPISODES
  • 11m AVG DURATION
  • 30 EPISODES


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Latest episodes from Better Wife Better Life

Final Episode - Love is a Verb

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2020 31:40


We often hear that love is something that you feel, that you just "know" when you've met the "right" person.  Jake and I offer a different perspective in this final episode of Better Wife Better Life!  We talk about all things related to love and communication in our own life and some of our goals for the future.

Positive and Negative Sentiment Override

Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2020 8:39


How we experience our partner's behaviors and words can very much be influenced by whether we are looking for our partners to mess up or whether we are believing the best about them.

It's Not About the Toothpaste

Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2020 10:01


Conflict is rarely about the actual topic and often more about the underlying unmet needs of ourselves and our partners.

Resiliency

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2020 10:46


All relationships go through some ups and downs.  Learning the art of resiliency can help a couple come out even stronger during the tough times!

Adaptability

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2020 8:38


Skills of adaptability and flexibility help couples grow closer together and throughout the entire relationship as situations change, people change and life happens!

Assertiveness and Speaking Up

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2020 17:16


As we wind down the last few episodes of our podcast, Meredith continues building some of the building blocks for healthy relationships and communication.  She will cover the role of assertiveness and learning how to speak up in today's episode.

Boundaries

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2020 9:06


Meredith talks briefly about the role of boundaries in dating or marriage relationship.

Unmet Expectations

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 30, 2020 9:21


Can you guess the #1 reason for conflict in a relationship?  It's not money, sex or communication...it's unmet expectations!  Meredith provides examples and practical suggestions for navigating this source of conflict in relationships.

Intimacy

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 23, 2020 18:02


Meredith describes various types of intimacy in relationships and shares encouraging words of how to improve relationships that may be lacking in these areas.

Accepting Influence

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2020 9:58


Meredith talks about the Gottman Method principle of Accepting Influence, especially in times of conflict.  It's really important to put the relationship above the individual agendas of each partner.  "Yield to win" is a way of doing this with many different topics that come up in conflict.

Publicizing Your Problems

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2020 6:12


We all have our moments of complaining about our partners, but it seems more common to post a meme on social media that's a quick jab at something your partner does or doesn't do!  This isn't helpful and can potentially harm the relationship.

Repair to the Rescue!

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2020 8:27


Conflict is normal, even in the healthiest of couples.  But how we manage that conflict is critical.  The masters are quick to engage in repair attempts once a conflict emerges.  

Soften Your Startup

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2020 6:45


Setting the tone for conflict in a positive way can absolutely make or break the interaction between a couple.  Meredith provides background and practical tips for how to soften your start up when you have conflict with or a complaint about your partner.

Are you a Pursuer or Distancer?

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2020 12:16


Meredith explores a common issue in most relationships - one partner pursues and one partner distances from conflict.

Traveling With Your Partner

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2020 7:50


Meredith shares about how relationships can be a wonderful opportunity for connection and also to practice healthy relationship skills like repair attempts and maintaining a 5:1 positive to negative ratio during conflict.

Attraction

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2020 11:46


This episode talks about the nuances of having a focus on superficial qualities in a relationship such as placing high importance on physical attraction, specifically related to physical qualities.  Meredith talks about some of the pitfalls of this, research behind it and gives encouragement for diving deeper into the role of attraction in a relationship.

The Quality of Your Marriage is More Important Than the Size of Your Wedding Dress

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2020 5:22


Meredith shares a quick word of encouragement to those who are engaged or about to be engaged to remember that focusing on the relationship is the most important part of engagement, not what size the wedding dress is or how tone arms look in wedding photos.  

Affair Proofing Your Marriage

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 13, 2020 8:51


Affairs are often much deeper than we realize.  Meredith gives practical tips for ways we can better understand and avoid this as well as hope for those who have experienced this in a relationship.

Long Distance Relationships - Strategies to Make it Work

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2020 14:54


Meredith shares her own personal experience with making long distance relationship dynamic work with her husband.  Strategies, Gottman tips and some encouragement are shared for those who are curious!

Relationship Rituals

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 30, 2019 7:18


Meredith describes another strength of healthy relationships and that is one of establishing rituals and traditions.  These help us build emotional connection with our partners.

Learning from the Masters - 5:1 Ratio

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2019 10:43


Learn how to stay engaged during conflict in positive ways that help to strengthen the relationship.

Contempt - Number One Way to Get a Divorce

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2019 7:46


Contempt rounds out the last of the 4 Horsemen and we saved the worst for last!  Just being plain ol' mean after losing respect and appreciation of your partner is one of the fastest ways to head to divorce court.  

Silent Treatment and Its Relatives

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2019 11:05


The emotional disconnect we experience during conflict or difficult conversations can be referred to as stonewalling.  Silent treatment is an extreme form of stonewalling and Meredith goes on to describe other, more subtle, ways this 4 Horsemen style can enter into relationships and do damage.

D-D-D Defense!

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2019 9:51


Defensiveness is another of the 4 Horsemen we've been talking about, so in the episode, Meredith shares more details about what defensiveness looks like and strategies we can use to reduce and eliminate this toxic style of communicating.

Holidays - Hide or Have Fun?

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2019 17:35


In this episode, Meredith goes into more detail of all the different decisions and stressors that can make the holidays feel really tough on a relationship.  With practical guidance for ongoing communication and some compromise strategies, we hope this holiday season is your best one yet for your relationship!

Criticism or Complaint

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2019 17:35


This episode helps distinguish between criticism and a complaint and gives the listener ideas for how to speak up about your needs in a helpful way.

Change Begins with You

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2019 12:21


It's a tough pill to swallow sometimes, but we can't wait for others to change before we begin working to improve our relationships.  Change begins with you.  Meredith walks us through this sometimes touchy subject and gives encouragement for how we can have a perspective shift to allow for a more flexible approach to ourselves and others in the improvement of our relationships.

Learning About 4 Negative Styles of Communication

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2019 13:47


Meredith offers education and examples of 4 styles of negative communication that Drs. Gottman refer to as the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  Learn about criticism, defensiveness, contempt and stonewalling and ways to identify these styles in your own relationships.  

Learning About Love Languages

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2019 14:20


Meredith provides details on concepts from Gary Chapman's 5 Love Languages.  Learning each other's love languages can be a light bulb moments in relationships if you feel like you keep giving and giving and giving in your relationship and not connecting or not feeling like you receive anything in return.  

Intro to Better Wife Better Life

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2019 11:29


Meredith Riddick dives into this introductory episode explaining the need, insight and passion for a podcast that focuses on women who want to improve their relationships.

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