For decades, psychologists have examined how relationships operate and what the key could be to making them last. After studying couples for more than 50 years, Dr John Gottman and Dr Julie Schwartz Gottman, co-founders of The Gottman Institute and Love Lab, have pinpointed what they believe is the answer to making a relationship successful: The act of turning towards your relationship.
No, this isn’t simply facing your partner during a conversation. In an article published by CNBC earlier this month, the Gottmans said that, when couples turn toward each other, they are interacting with their “bids for connection”. These bids can range from help with a phone call to wanting to engage in a deep conversation about your relationship. In response to these bids, you “turn towards” your significant other by “acknowledging them and engaging with their attempt to connect”.
