Joy feelings magazine September 2019 Issue | Page 25

She decided her new SFP would be, “I know you want to spend time
with me.”
The next Saturday she was looking forward to spending the day with
her husband. When her husband accepted an invite from a friend to go
mountain biking that day instead, Patricia responded out of habit with
her old mantra, “You never want to spend time with me!” and left the
room in a huff.
But a few minutes later, Patricia realized that she was still creating the
kind of relationship she didn’t want instead of the kind that she did.
She went back to talk to her husband and said, “I’m sorry I got upset. I
know you want to spend time with me. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
It felt like a crazy thing to say. She wondered if he would question her,
since it felt like such a departure from reality. At least the one she had
been focused on.
She was shocked when, a few minutes later, her husband said that he
had called his friend to tell him that he couldn’t go mountain biking
after all. “I told him I wanted to spend the day with you.”
“I had no idea it would work so fast,” Patricia admitted. “But I’m happy
that it did.”