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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Getting The Love You Want summary
Harville Hendrix
A Guide for Couples
18 mins
Brief summary
Getting the Love You Want by Harville Hendrix is a relationship guidebook that helps couples fix their issues by understanding their childhood experiences and developing empathy and effective communication skills.
Table of Contents
Getting The Love You Want
Summary of 7 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 7
Your choice of life partner is influenced by your hidden childhood desires.
They say that people often end up with partners who are similar to their parents. Most of us, however, would vehemently deny this when it comes to our own relationships.
Yet this is what happens! Unconsciously, we’re all trying to recreate our childhood environment. Nowhere is this more evident than at the beginning of a relationship.
In these early days, people tend to treat each other like babies, admiring how soft a partner’s skin is or how cute a partner’s ears are. Think about the names lovers call each other: kitten, baby, teddy bear. All these items are related to things from childhood.
Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, went even further. He said that even as adults, we’re just crying babies pining after parental love.
So why do we pick partners according to the needs of our “inner child?” From a young age, we construct an image in our head of an ideal caregiver, known as an Imago figure.
The ideal caregiver often resembles our parents and meets our every need. And because we are unconsciously seeking a person who reminds us of that caregiver, the Imago figure influences us when we are selecting a partner.
However, there’s another desire that affects our choice of partner.
We are also attracted to opposites, because in doing so, we work to regain traits that we lost when we entered adulthood.
We all know couples who seemingly couldn’t be more different. One is loud, the other is quiet. One is hyper-organized while the other couldn’t be more scatterbrained.
The reason that such relationships work is that each partner longs for a sense of wholeness. As your personality develops and you leave your childhood behind, you also lose that sense of completeness.
The way to get it back is to have an “opposite” in your life.
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What is Getting The Love You Want about?
Getting The Love You Want (1988) offers practical advice on how to save a failing relationship and build a stronger one. It highlights a unique therapy program that offers a step-by-step guide to helping partners address repressed childhood desires and become more compassionate individuals.
Getting The Love You Want Review
Getting The Love You Want (1988) by Harville Hendrix is a valuable read for anyone looking to improve their relationship. Here's why this book stands out:
- With its insightful analysis of the dynamics of romantic relationships, it helps readers understand the patterns and issues that may be hindering their love lives.
- Supported by compelling case studies and practical exercises, it provides a roadmap for couples to heal past wounds and build a stronger, more fulfilling partnership.
- The book's emphasis on emotional connection, vulnerability, and empathy creates a refreshing and compassionate approach to fostering love and intimacy.
Best quote from Getting The Love You Want
It is when you direct your energy away from yourself and toward your partner that deep-level psychological and spiritual healing begins to take place.
—Harville Hendrix
Who should read Getting The Love You Want?
- Couples looking to reboot a relationship
- People curious about Freudian psychoanalysis
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Getting The Love You Want FAQs
What is the main message of Getting The Love You Want?
The main message of Getting The Love You Want is that by understanding our childhood experiences and needs, we can create a fulfilling and lasting love relationship.
How long does it take to read Getting The Love You Want?
The reading time for Getting The Love You Want varies depending on the reader's speed, but it typically takes several hours. The Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.
Is Getting The Love You Want a good book? Is it worth reading?
Getting The Love You Want is a valuable read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of love relationships. It provides practical insights and strategies to improve your connection with your partner.
Who is the author of Getting The Love You Want?
The author of Getting The Love You Want is Harville Hendrix.
What to read after Getting The Love You Want?
If you're wondering what to read next after Getting The Love You Want, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus by John Gray
- Wired for Love by Stan Tatkin
- Attached by Amir Levine and Rachel S. F. Heller
- Eight Dates by John Gottman
- The Power of the Pussy by Kara King
- Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson
- Deeper Dating by Ken Page
- The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm
- Becoming Attached by Robert Karen
- Love Unfu*ked by Gary John Bishop