4 Steps to Civility In Your Marriage
https://savethemarriage.com/stmblog/wp-content/themes/corpus/images/empty/thumbnail.jpg 150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D. Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D. https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/669b7e375d93f77521ddaba08adb8063?s=96&d=blank&r=pgMany times, I found myself just playing referee in my office. The sparring match began when the couple sat down, and didn’t stop until they left.
It seemed that all I could do was ring the bell and end a round. “Be civil,” I would tell them.
Then, the gloves would come off and they were sparring again.
“Be civil,” I would tell them, more emphatically, but still in my best therapist’s voice.
And still, they would go after each other.
One day, a man turned to me and said, “Is that all you can say? ‘Be civil?'” I looked at him, and in my most “therapy” therapist voice said, “That would be a really good place to start.”
Being civil IS a great place to start, an excellent place to continue, and a terrific foundation to any relationship.
Here is the irony: on a daily basis, we are civil to many, many people — some we probably don’t even like!
And then, to the one most important person in our lives — our spouse — we let it fly! Civility is out the window.
Let’s decide, together, that as a foundation, civility is a great starting point.
Here are 4 steps to bringing more civility into your marriage — regardless of the conflict level right now.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS