With all the thinking go on, what chance does our heart have to breathe, feel, and experience life, no less make contact with our significant others? The crowded mind makes for an overcrowded heart with little room for ourselves and less room for anyone else.

Connection with your partner is vital for your well-being and the well-being of the relationship. If you find that any of these suggestions are hard for you, then do some inner work to discover what is in the way.

Usually, the people we're closest to and trust the most are the ones we inevitably (and most of the time, unintentionally) hurt, or are hurt by. It's because we love them the most that they can hurt us, and it's because we trust them the most that we aren't always thinking not to offend them.

It's just possible that if you do some or all these things, your relationship and your life in general will become less boring and more exhilarating. It might also become more challenging and stimulating. But who knows? You might get to enjoy living on the edge.

I know it can be scary to confront and follow through on difficult conversations but there is freedom on the other side of them. Here are steps to having a tough conversation with someone.

Whether you want more happiness, less stress, or to build your resilience reserves, the key is to get FAT -- flexible, accurate and thorough -- about your thinking. The ripple effects will astound you.

Spring and summer are the quintessence of backyard barbecues, outdoor festivities, and beach bum days, which means a lot more mingling and mixing is done during these months. But increased exposure to others can also easily increase tensions.

Life is a collection of missteps, mistakes and misjudgments transformed to understanding. The regret of our neglected intuition turns to awareness, as we accept the lesson within the experience.

Over my 25 years of experience as a psychologist, I gradually came to realize that drinking may be one of the most common yet least talked about causes of marital conflict. Unfortunately, in the couples I've worked with this issue is often swept under the carpet.

This is a common phenomenon among both men and woman who claim that all they want is a happy relationship, and they lament that this wish is never fulfilled.

Jerome Kern wrote, "When you're in love, smoke gets in your eyes." And that smoke can quickly turn into a smokescreen that you are unable to see through to see if your love relationship has any chance of lasting.

Ultimately, you chose your partner for a reason. You have a soul-level connection that can transcend any differences. Hold strong to that fact and you'll soon find that smarts and social can indeed go hand-in-hand in any relationship.

Just as smiling makes you both feel happier, showing appreciation and warmth -- especially when you least feel it and your beloved most needs it -- will bring you closer than asking for warmth from your beloved.

We need friendships in our lives to supplement our existing romantic, marital or family relationships. Yet most adult friendships are based on proximity rather than on a purposeful pursuit.