Too often, we hope our spouse (or kids) will just know what it is we want. Instead of asking directly for what we want, we either hope or hint at it. But they just don’t pick up on it. Then we get annoyed and become critical.

We hope or hint that we want a glass of water, but we don’t say it outright. And then comes the annoyance, “You got yourself a glass of water and didn’t get any for me? Real nice.”

If you had just asked, your spouse would likely have brought a glass for you. But you didn’t ask and so they didn’t know.