It is widely recognisable that there are two distinct stages during the first few years of a new relationship.

The first of these stages is the attraction, lust and romance stage, which develops from when a couple first start dating and can last anywhere from a few months to several years. This continues whilst a couple discover each other fully and build intimate rapport together.

The second of these stages is the commitment, management and awareness stage, which continues thereafter. This stage usually develops around the time there is a prominent gesture of commitment, such as deciding to live together, or simply the period where a couple become deeply and emotionally close to one another.

The power shifts that develop across these two stages are unavoidable but the degree to which we let a power struggle affect a relationship can most certainly be handled… [Continue reading this post...]

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 11th, 2010 at 11:01 am by Samuel McCrohan and is filed under Relationships.
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You may be familiar with the term polygamy, which refers to a married man or woman having more than one spouse at a time: a practice that is illegal in many cultures and frowned upon in others (although not all). Polyamory is a modern adaptation of this, which simply refers to someone having more than one loving or sexual relationship at a time.

Modern-day polyamorous relationships, or ‘open relationships’, have a somewhat negative reputation in modern society and I think this is largely because they are misunderstood.

I thought I would share some of my own insights into polyamorous relationships and explain how, whether you approve of the underlying principles or not, they can help enrich how you approach your own relationships and the attitudes and mindsets surrounding them… [Continue reading this post...]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 at 5:34 pm by Samuel McCrohan and is filed under Relationships.
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As Sparklife.info gets increasingly popular, I receive more and more requests from advertisers and affiliate marketers wanting my endorsement. For some reason, the most common request is from ‘get your ex back’ type programs.

There are specific reasons why I am reluctant to promote any program or service that deals with getting back with an ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend that I will explain shortly, but this third-party interest does show that it is a common enough issue for me to cover.

This article will give a few tips on how to get back with an ex but will first address what I believe is a far more pertinent question… [Continue reading this post...]

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This entry was posted on Friday, April 2nd, 2010 at 3:34 pm by Samuel McCrohan and is filed under Relationships.
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A lot of people say, when put on the spot about dating someone specific, or when deciding to end a relationship, that they are just not “compatible” with this other person.

The truth is that compatibility is created and we can learn to be compatible with just about anyone.

It is the art of connecting with someone that we base this compatibility supposition on: some people connect with each other far more naturally than others, which is generally how we get into romantic relationships.

It is for this reason, that when a couple come to me, adamant on staying together and working on their relationship, that helping them to connect with each other is the number one priority. If you can positively connect with someone (and I will explain what I mean by positively connecting in this article) then the basis of a fulfilling relationship is already there… [Continue reading this post...]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 3:41 pm by Samuel McCrohan and is filed under Dating, Relationships.
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Whilst the general advice I give when dating or in the early stages of a new relationship is to ‘lead and guide the interactions’ and ‘bring them into your world’, some people take this far too literally when they are actually in a relationship. Doing these two things dogmatically, you will become the selfish, unreasonable partner.

Every healthy relationship needs compromise! Humans are extremely complex and varied creatures, so no matter how suited you feel you and your partner are, you will always have differing opinions on certain things. It is unlikely you will ever have someone who always confidently agrees with you and decidedly wants to do whatever you want to do and let’s be honest, how fun would that actually be! My standard rule for compromising is:

If something doesn’t hurt me or go against my core beliefs and principles then do it.

There is a lot more to a healthy compromise between a couple than this though and this article aims to break it down to its core components… [Continue reading this post...]

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This entry was posted on Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 6:12 pm by Samuel McCrohan and is filed under Relationships.
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January is a busy time in the world of relationships. It is a month that is traditionally teeming with resolutions and renewed self-discipline and so the cities are filled with singles determined to take control of their dating lives and couples wanting to refresh, enrich and repair their relationships.

It is a common period of reflection too and so over the last month I have been working with both men and women who are going through the process of reassessing their relationships either independently or with their partner.

Whilst this article won’t categorically tell you whether you should stay in your relationship or leave it, it will give you a few things to think about regarding whether to stay or leave and explain the best mentality to have regarding any decisions… [Continue reading this post...]

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 8:04 pm by Samuel McCrohan and is filed under Relationships.
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I would like to start by saying that I am not adamantly against marriage myself but that the committal of marriage should be done with a lot greater thought and awareness than most people seem to utilise. It’s no coincidence that divorce rates are so high when we are pressured by society to believe marriage is the correct course for all long-term relationships.

I personally would rather go through life having never been married but having experienced many fulfilling relationships that were right for me at the time than marry the wrong person out of some sort of commitment obligation.

This article will highlight ten reasons why marriages consistently fail and will hopefully give some food for thought for people who believe marriage is a top priority. I encourage you to discuss, argue or agree with any of the points in the comments section at the end of the article… [Continue reading this post...]

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 8:26 pm by Samuel McCrohan and is filed under Relationships.
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I know that my girlfriend loves me very much but there’s still something acutely powerful, blissfully reassuring and downright indomitable about hearing Heidi utter those magical three words to me.

I’ve worked hard over the past few years to rid myself of any negative emotions and anxieties and be able to control my emotions at will, yet I truly believe that the only emotion that cannot be suppressed is love!

That’s fine if your love for someone is equally reciprocated but what if it is not? And even if it is reciprocated, does the intensity fluctuate over time?

This article will introduce some new theories I have been working on surrounding love and how to manage what is ostensibly the most powerful emotion in the world… [Continue reading this post...]

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 8:23 pm by Samuel McCrohan and is filed under Relationships.
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Today’s update is a practical assignment that will have a positive effect on many aspects of your life. If you’ve been following my twitter profile recently then you will have noticed that the lead up to this challenge revolves around thinking about the best compliments you have ever been given and how you felt when you received them. If you haven’t responded to that yet then please add the best compliment you have ever been given in the comments section at the end of this article. The responses I have received so far have highlighted the variety of positive emotions that I was expecting.

The following complimenting challenge takes very little time out of your daily routine (in fact it is incorporated directly into it) and will have a profound effect on both your dating life and your relationships… [Continue reading this post...]

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 7:25 pm by Samuel McCrohan and is filed under Dating, Relationships.
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This post is a follow-up to the article ‘How likely your partner is to cheat – part 1’ and consists of a uniquely designed cascading diagram that will determine how likely someone is to cheat in a relationship. Without further ado I present you the diagram, followed by some brief explanations of some of the key features…

The diagram below should be read from top to bottom as a series of steps, in descending order of importance: [Continue reading this post...]

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This entry was posted on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 11:50 am by Samuel McCrohan and is filed under Relationships.
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