Our best marriages occur when a woman is constantly trying the wind’s method, blowing as cold and hard as she can. Husbands universally respond by pulling their coats tighter around them. (In the fable, the sun shines warmly on the man’s face so that he removes the coat voluntarily. It is a dangerous secret, really.) One word of praise would do much more to “improve” him than a hundred critical words ever could. But it would also change her. Giving thanks produces a habit of thankfulness. Gratitude begets more pernicious gratitude.
