10 Ways to Speak Your Truth in the Relationship

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With women being encouraged more in today’s society to have a voice and stand up for equal rights, speaking your truth has never been so ‘en vogue.’ At the 2018 Golden Globes, Oprah Winfrey triggered a debate about the potential power versus the dangers of expressing your truth with her remark, “What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.”

What does speaking your truth mean?

To speak the truth in love could mean expressing how you are feeling about your relationship or perhaps your work or friendship. It could also include voicing your opinion about something you feel strongly about or sharing your story and revealing past problems that may have been difficult or painful.

Can truth help you to attract more love?

In my personal experience and from working with clients, speaking from the heart can undoubtedly help your relationship thrive. 

When you choose to show up without holding back certain feelings or parts of yourself, it can help create an environment where you feel accepted for the person you really are. This is what I call ‘Relationship Freedom.’

Truth is not a license to play the victim

However, some people seem to use the theory of ‘speaking your truth’ as a license to play the victim card or blame and criticize their partner for not coming up to their perfectionistic standards. 

Similarly, others see it as an excuse to overly exert their opinion and take the stance that they are always ‘right,’ which can end up in domineering and controlling behavior and has the effect of stifling any healthy relationship. 

As a result, there are ways that I recommend to speak your truth that will help in relationship growth as opposed to weakening it.

How to speak your truth to strengthen your relationship

1. Say what is on your mind

If something is bothering you, learn to speak your mind without fear. I tell my clients, ‘feel the fear and say it anyway.’ 

You are a human being with emotions, and allowing yourself to be vulnerable is a way of strengthening the relationship to help create a deeper connection and enhance the relationship.

2. Take full responsibility for your well-being

Your partner is not responsible for your happiness and so telling the truth in a relationship that how unloved you feel and that it is their fault is to give your power away is not right. When you take responsibility for yourself and how you feel, your relationship can enjoy much greater freedom.

3. Using vulnerability as a strength vs. weakness

Taking full responsibility for your emotions will help you speak in a way that enables your vulnerability to open up your relationship. 

If you are always saying things like “You are making me feel XYZ,” you will be playing the victim card, and this usually only serves to elicit resentment from your partner. 

Use “I Statements” instead.

Saying, “I am feeling hurt right now” or “I realize I felt scared at that moment when XYZ happened, and I did not manage the situation as well as I could have done” does not point the finger of blame at your partner. 

It helps to create a space where both of you can be human beings with emotions.

4. Know that you are always entitled to your feelings

If your partner tries to deny or dismiss how you feel, then you have every right to set a boundary in and say, “Please do not dismiss my feelings.” 

However, this does presuppose that you have taken full responsibility for your expression, as described above.

5. Work on your feelings of self-worth

When you are confident in your worth and know your value, it is much easier to speak up with assertions. Whatever happens, you always have the knowledge that you have your own back.

In the video below, Adia Gooden questions, “What would you stop doing if you knew you were already worthy?” She talks about forgiveness, self-acceptance, connecting with supportive people for realizing your self-worth.

6. Be clear on your values and desires in your romantic life 

When you are clear on what is truly important to you and what you desire in life and love, you will have a clear idea of how to speak your truth and what you want to take a stand for. On the other hand, some things in life are just not worth even bringing up in conversations.

7. Be mindful

Learn to become acutely aware of your thoughts and feelings. The human mind is exceptionally good at feeding us many thoughts and stories that are just not true. 

These thoughts then trigger our feelings, and the feelings feed the thoughts. We can then get caught up in a vicious cycle of negative emotions, influencing our partner’s behavior. 

When you learn to take a step back and observe your thoughts, you will start seeing the limited perspective of the mind and be less likely to take this out on your relationship.

8. Be prepared to get it ‘wrong’

Trying to be a perfect partner and human being is a tall order for anyone. When you permit yourself to get ‘messy’ in love, you give yourself and your partner the best possible chance to connect with your partner on a deeper level. 

If you do not allow yourself to get it ‘wrong’ when you speak your truth, you also do not allow yourself to see where you can do it better next time. 

There is no such thing as ‘wrong’ when you decide to take a breath and speak up because you are taking a stand for being yourself, ‘warts and all’ as the saying goes. If your partner is not willing to let themselves or you make mistakes, then you may be better off without them.

9. Allow yourself to feel your emotions

Of course, things can get uncomfortable when you take a risk in your communication, but I always say to my clients, ‘So what?’ 

This may sound a little harsh, but what if you feel frustrated, sad, or angry? Are you willing to allow yourself to experience the full spectrum of human emotions and still love and accept yourself regardless? 

The problem only comes when we hold onto these emotions and use them against our partner or as a reason to stay stuck—most feelings usually only last 90 seconds. 

If you can let yourself feel your frustration and even speak it from that place of full responsibility, it will generally flow through you, and you will feel much better for being honest and open.

10. Keep ego aside

Remember, the ego will see your ‘problem’ as the end of the world.

The ego is often doom and gloom when it comes to relationship issues. This is the part of you that fears opening up to a deeper love. It would rather you jump ship from your relationship and believe that there is someone else out there who is a better match. 

The irony here is that many people go on to attract someone with whom they play out the exact same patterns and, therefore, are rarely any happier. 

When you can take the time to cultivate openness and honesty with your partner, you will start to see how the ego wants to sabotage your relationship and be better equipped to deal with it.

Takeaway

Speaking your truth is not always comfortable or easy because it goes against our conditioning that says, ‘Be nice, be perfect, do not upset others.’ 

Without a doubt, it is a great way to create an extraordinary relationship with your partner. 

Many people choose to hide in their relationships and end up settling and plodding along. This is not a recipe for long-term happiness, as hiding who you are, makes you feel miserable and that something is missing.

If you decide to speak your truth, it involves being vulnerable, honest, and open from a place of full responsibility. It’s never an excuse to keep blaming your partner, and there is never a right time to speak up. It is all about learning to trust yourself to show up at the moment, even though you are not sure how things might turn out. 

The more you do this, the more you will receive evidence that you can do it again and again. It will create a greater amount of freedom for you and your partner to speak your truth and be accepted for who you are.

Consider your relationship as the training ground for you to create the love you want. Expecting it to be perfect and for there not to be times when it gets uncomfortable is unrealistic. 

You have much more space to be more of who you are than you realize, and this is how you create a relationship where you and your partner both feel fully supported, seen, and heard in your journey of life.