On hearing the term ‘odd couple’ images may flash through your mind of Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison. Although the original “Odd Couple” play by Neil Simon came out in 1965, it has been redone on stage, television and in the movies.
I often have visions of the odd couple when I consider the weird relationship affairs have with Thanksgiving. The relationship between them is hard to reconcile. It’s hard finding anything thankful about an affair.
You can start with being thankful for what you have left of your relationships and health. Being thankful for more than that moves you out of your comfort zone. Even though it moves you beyond what you feel comfortable with, being thankful and finding things to be thankful for are critical.
Thankfulness is critical in shaping your attitude. You have the choice of either the discomfort of thankfulness or the bitterness of resentment. The bitterness of resentment will color your world and take you from your comfort zone as well. Bitterness always takes you further and deeper than you intended to go.
With thankfulness, you begin developing an attitude of gratefulness and having real hope. This is far different than the false hope that comes from just thinking ‘positive thoughts’ and fantasies about positive outcomes.
Going through an affair, you need the kind of real hope that comes as a result of thankfulness. The other hidden bonus of thankfulness is that it attracts people to you, whereas bitterness repels people and destroys marriages. No amount of fancy clothes, enticing perfume and money can overcome the repelling energy you develop with resentment.
Giving thanks and developing an attitude of gratefulness is critical to healthy affair recovery, even if affairs and thankfulness come across as an odd couple.
Best Regards,
Jeff
PS-A good place to start regaining thankfulness is with the webinar, “How Can I Trust You Again?”
