77070 Marriage and Self-Deception

This date should be considered a series of dates. For some it might take 2 dates, for others it might be a few more. But it is important that it is started together and finished together. There is a big issue with Self-Deception in most relationships today. So for this series of dates you are to read the book: Leadership and Self-Deception-Getting out of the Box, by the Arbinger Institute. It can be rented at your local library, instantly accessed through eBook, or bought as a hard copy.

You might be thinking that this is a book on “Leadership,” but the truth is this book is not only applicable to businesses, it teaches family, individual and especially marriage life skills that are needed to be successful.

“To give you an idea of what’s at stake, consider the following analogy. .An infant is learning how to crawl. She begins by pushing herself backward around the house. Backing herself around, she gets lodged beneath the furniture. There she thrashes about, crying and banging her little head against the sides and the undersides of the pieces. She is stuck and hates it. So she does the only thing she can think of to get herself out-she pushes even harder, which only worsens her problem. She’s more stuck than ever.

If this infant could talk, she would blame the furniture for her troubles. After all, she is doing everything she can think of. The problem couldn’t be hers. But of course the problem is  hers, even though she can’t see it. While it’s true that she’s doing everything she can think of, the problem is precisely that she can’t see how she’s the problem. Having the problem she has, nothing she can think of will be a solution.

Self deception is like this. It blinds us to the true causes of problems, and once we’re blind, all the “solutions” we can think of will actually make matters worse. Whether at work or at home, self-deception obscures the truth about ourselves, corrupts our view of others and our circumstances and inhibits our ability to make wise and helpful decisions. To the extent that we are self-deceived, both our happiness and our leadership are undermined at every turn, and not because of the furniture.”

As you read the book together consider how these tools will help your marriage if implemented. Commit toward being “Out of the Box” together. A suggestion for a date including reading this book together might be, getting a quick bite to eat at:

Jose’s Roasted Corn

8320 W. FM 1960

Houston TX 77070

This isn’t your typical sit down restaurant, it is simply a food truck that specializes in an original idea of delicious roasted corn (and affordable too). Simply take your corn to go, and eat while reading at:

Matzke Park

13110 Jones Rd.

Houston, TX 77070

A fun little park, only 5 minutes from Jose’s Roasted Corn.