H.O.P.E. is a Four-Letter Word

S5 Episode 3: H.O.P.E. is a Four-Letter Word

 

Episode Summary

Hope can be a very dangerous thing when it comes to romantic relationships.  Hope keeps a person from taking an active role in directing the evolution of their romantic partnership.  Fostering hope in a relationship is a surefire way to waste time and energy.

If your partner is not living up to your expectations or failing to meet your wants and needs, you must actively communicate with them and advocate for any necessary changes.  To hope that someone will alter their behavior without facing any consequences is naïve and unproductive.  Moreover, if your partner has already made it clear that they are fine with the status quo, then it is time for you to move on.

Do not let someone lead you on, or manipulate you, by making promises without following through.  A Romancipated individual understands that action is what counts.  If your partner truly respected you, they would make every effort to offer the type of commitment or relationship you desire.

At the end of each episode, Marlee and Lis vent about commonly experienced issues in romantic relationships. In this episode, the ladies discuss how it feels when your partner corrects or chastises you in front of others.

 

Show Notes

When it comes to relationships, “hope” is a bad word. Anytime you hope something will happen in a relationship, you’re letting someone else control your destiny. You can’t make someone else act in a certain way—and it’s a waste of energy to think this way. Confronting the issues and sharing your feelings is the better solution.

 

You should be comfortable communicating your wants and needs. However, if your partner has conveyed directly, or even indirectly, that they don’t intend to meet your needs or wants, you have to accept it and move on. 

 

Hoping takes away your agency because it takes away your ability to take action in your relationship. You can’t control what your partner decides to do, but you can control yourself and what you decide to do. For this reason, Romancipated people don’t hope. They hold on to their power rather than waiting for the other person to deliver.

 

Your partner can use hope to manipulate you. It can be a double-edged sword. Your partner can tell you what you want to hear simply to keep the hope going—without any real intention to make any sort of change. Don’t waste your time hoping when you can do better.

 

In this episode, the vent session topic is: When my partner corrects me or chastises me in public or in front of other couples or friends. It’s not okay, ever. When someone constantly tries to put their partner down, it’s a big red flag. A partner who respects you does not behave this way. It’s not “helpful” to correct your partner in front of others. If you can’t see how thoughtless this is, you need to do some soul-searching.

 

Please make sure you subscribe to the podcast so you can receive notifications of new episodes right when they are released. Also, make sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook.

Visit us at www.romancipation.com