Listen till it hurts — it will prevent future pain
S ome things are just plain hard to hear so some people solve that problem by just plain not listening.
Wife: “I feel like you never want to spend time with me.”
Husband: “All you do is complain.”
Accusations tend to elicit a knee-jerk “make-this-conversation-end” reaction. One way to end a conversation is to make it painful for the other person. Throwing the ball back into their court is an all-time favorite. Why talk about your complaint about me when we can talk about my complaint about you? See how easily a counterattack can throw a speaker off her initial course:
Wife: “I do not complain. Some wives complain but not me! You don’t know how lucky you are to have a wife who puts up with everything!”
