Wrong Strategies in Human Relationships
* Excessive Sympathy: Remember that if your spouse talks about his or her problems, sympathize with her, but only once. Do not be tempted to express your sympathy several times, because your spouse might interpret your comments differently and think that you do not really believe what you say.
* Labeling: The inclination to label others is quite strong in most people. They turn to labeling people with different motivations. Meanwhile, the person who is labeled is likely to become rather upset and distressed. You have probably heard statements such as "you are very calm about this," or "you are having delusions." In labeling others we think that we are the one in the right.
* Snide remarks: Snide remarks are commonly considered an insult. We have all been exposed to some insult by some individual. We are certainly aware of the negative impact that snide remarks have on people.
* Questioning others: You have probably had this experience with someone asking you several questions in a row. How do you feel afterwards? In general, people do not feel good when they are questioned rapidly, and specially when they feel that they are either being assessed or pressured by others. If you intend to establish a positive relationship by asking others questions, first make an assessment of your interlocutor, so that you would know if he is willing to answer your questions.
* Forcing others to follow your beliefs: If you want to force your friend to follow your beliefs, you will soon have problems in the relationship.
* Threatening: Threatening statements such as "you must do this or that, or else..." will not get you anywhere, and you should not expect a successful relationship thereafter.
* Baseless Advice: One of the main complaints of parents is that they can not maintain a healthy relationship with their children, which is mainly due to their baseless, wrong advice to their children.
* Talking Vaguely: If we do not use the right words or phrase in expressing ourselves clearly, no communication takes place.
* Hiding information: If someone knows the solution to your problem, and won't help you by providing you with the information, how would you feel? You would not be able to establish a strong relationship with him or her.
* Diversion: Sometimes it is possible that one of the parties diverts a conversation from its normal course in order to prevent some information from being discovered. It is better to be straightforward and tell your interlocutor gently that you do not want to continue the conversation.
Hopefully, after giving due consideration to these wrong strategies, we can replace them with appropriate ways of communicating, so that we can enjoy the pleasure and blessings of healthy relationships with our friends and loved ones.