There is probably no one who is subject to as bad publicity as the mother-in-law. And there’s a reason for that, they can be very nosy, annoying and pushy! On top of all this, they often ruin beautiful marriages. The new member of the family is always affected by her presence, hence the difficulty and struggle for the wife/husband of her son/daughter.
However, there are ways to lessen its negative effect on you and your marriage. In this article I will show you 3 ways to feel less intimidated by your mother-in-law.
1. Stop reading minds. Every time you meet your slim mother-in-law, she seems to look you over from head to toe and notice the extra weight you’re trying to shed. She drives you crazy. She doesn’t say anything, but you KNOW what she’s thinking and that’s why you don’t like being around her. She’s sorry and… Well, it’s not really close.
What to do with this? Well, first realize that it might not be true. As I always tell people, “Leave the mind reading to the psychics and stage magicians.”
But I know this is what she’s thinking, you tell yourself. Actually? Think of times when you were SURE someone was thinking “this or that” and it turned out they were wrong.
If you think and keep telling yourself that she thinks badly of you, it is YOU who makes your life worse. (Sorry to break it to you.) Those looks can’t kill you, but your thoughts will.
The best thing you can do is start a conversation with her. Surely you wanted to know what’s behind that look. All you need to do is ask. If you ask, it definitely won’t kill you; rather, it will kill your thoughts and make your life easier than ever.
2. Reinterpret their annoying and humiliating stars. Think of different ways to interpret what she does. Even if you don’t think that’s really what they’re thinking, try to come up with 3-5 semi-plausible ideas. (She’s really a nice lady but she’s practicing for the part of Wicked Witch of the West, it doesn’t count.)
As we all know, there are different means and ways to kill chickens. This is also true with the interpretation in the actions of the laws. You have to think of different options or interpretations of why she is acting that way. The more options you can list, the better solutions you can find. But of course the best way to do that is to have a deep conversation with. It may surprise you to learn that she doesn’t want to trap you, but rather she wants to help you stay in shape. She just didn’t know how to tell you.
3. Let yourself be carried away by HER. What is harder a stone or water? A stone, right? Have you ever thought, then, why when the stone hits the water, the water swallows the stone? The answer is that when you don’t fight hard things just fall into your hands!
It’s the same with your mother-in-law. If she keeps looking at you and you think it’s because of your weight, for example, don’t deny it, just say, “You know, Mom (or whatever you call her), I’ve been thinking about my weight recently. I’m trying so hard to lose it; I can’t seem to do it!”
The point is that if you agree with what they say, they just buy it and you are the winner. It’s a good way to tell them they’re absolutely right without losing face.
Losing weight is not always an easy thing to do. It is difficult and a good support system can be a great help. If you could do it with the help of your in-laws, that would be wonderful. This can be a good way to start a healthy relationship with her.
It is very common to feel intimidated by your mother-in-law. They are very good at making you feel bad. However, implement these three ideas; stop reading minds, reinterpret their annoying and humiliating stars, go with their flow and you will diminish those bad feelings.
