"We all have blind spots, but the people we are intimate with can see through them," says David Palmiter, a couples therapist and professor of psychology at Marywood University, in Scranton, Pa. A loved one can encourage us to meet our goals and hold us accountable when we slip, he says.
Start with a 'gratitude letter.' Tell the other person what you appreciate about him. This 'will make you more likely to be open to the more critical information to follow,' says David Palmiter, a couples therapist in Scranton, Pa.