4 Secrets That Will Kill Your Relationship (Or Your Business)

So what’s the secret to a lack of secrets? Keep the lines of communication open to protect your marriage

When we have the temptation to hide, remember: a lack of transparency is always going to cause more problems than it (temporarily) solves. And it will usually derail something that could have been addressed and solved in a much healthier way.  We’ll never know, but it is entirely possible that something beautiful could have been created by Theranos if the transparency had been there.

The story of Elizabeth Holmes and her company, approached in the popular book as a business lesson, really spoke to me about a much bigger lesson: Keep the lines of communication open in your marriage, and even in your business or roommate partnerships. Don’t hide experiences, struggles, decisions, or failures—especially from your spouse. Have the hard conversations. Open up, even when it is hard. Allow questions. Even welcome them.

And if something big has been hidden (an addiction, secret relationship, credit card debt), get help from a pastor, counselor or wise mentor if necessary so that you can reveal and address your secret in a way that honors your spouse and your future together.

Take the risk to create a culture of healthy transparency. In the end, you’ll not only protect but improve the health and happiness of the relationships that matter most.

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Shaunti Feldhahn loves sharing eye-opening information that helps people thrive in life and relationships. She herself started out with a Harvard graduate degree and Wall Street credentials but no clue about life. After an unexpected shift into relationship research for average people like her, she now is a popular speaker and author of best-selling books about men, women and relationships. (Including For Women Only, For Men Only, and the groundbreaking The Good News About Marriage).
Her latest book, Find Rest: A Women’s Devotional for Lasting Peace in Busy Life, focuses on a journey to rest even with life’s constant demands.
Visit www.shaunti.com for more.