Last week I broke down guys into five basic modes: Playful, Middle Ground, Serious, Upset, and Explosive. In general, people want to feel understood, which means misinterpreting what category a guy is in leads to us moving down to a worse category. For instance, if you’re Serious and you’re … [Read more...]
The Lost Art of Gentleness
Last week when I was at Marineland with my family for the fifth time this year (my two daughters are obsessed with the dolphins, belugas, and penguins), I was pushing my two year old in a plastic car and accidentally bumped into the person’s heals in front of me. My knee-jerk reaction was to … [Read more...]
A Major Reason Our Society Terrifies Me (how to reduce others fighting)
At what point did it become mandatory to have to like everyone and accept their ways of living? Over my career, I’ve met lots of people who don’t like me and that’s fine. You’re allowed to not like me. I think you’re making a mistake because (written playfully) I think I’m great, but I’m clearly … [Read more...]
Beware of the “Screw You!”
I grew up in a house where my parents never got mad at each other. Some parents save their fights for after the kids go to bed, but my parents never actually fought – never. They were both passive, which is the anger category where you avoid conflict at all costs no matter how much it hurts you. … [Read more...]
10 Tips to Reduce Fights this Holiday Season
The holiday season has a way of bringing a lot of peace, love, and joy... as well as extreme blow up fights. These “experiences” often happen before or after an event where people are smiling and happy; aw, the magic of the season. It’s strange how ups always find a down while the downs don’t … [Read more...]
Both Sides of a Conflict are Dumb
Some people like to pick a side of a fight; based on this title, I clearly like to find a middle ground where both sides can attack me – genius. In TV sitcom writing, the two key questions every writer is supposed to ask are: “Why are they fighting? Why are they both right?” These two questions are … [Read more...]
Christians (like me) Ruin Christianity
I was once told Christians are the main reason more people don’t want to be Christian as well. This makes sense. For instance, when I was in my 20s and had serious workaholism problems, that’s not exactly a great sales pitch for God: “Be a Christian and have depression like me; it’s great!” … [Read more...]
How My Wife Really Impressed Me in a Conflict
The other week, my wife gave a wonderful demonstration of how we can reduce conflict. What was extra impressive was it happened after a long day of watching our two girls, so her patience for people would’ve already been worn thin. Here’s what happened: During what’s arguably the best time of day … [Read more...]