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Don’t Kill Relationships With Your Behavior
Some behaviors can destroy relationships with other people. Dr. Howard Lambert calls these the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They are behaviors that, if practiced regularly, seriously dam age or destroy relationships—or block any chance at having one.
Assignment
Have you practiced any of the Four Horsemen? If so, examine the circumstances and resolve not to do so in the future.
His horsemen are: criticism versus complaint; contempt; defensiveness; and stonewalling. Let’s examine each briefly.
Criticism versus Complaint. Lambert notes that a complaint is okay, because it addresses a single issue or behavior. People recognize a complaint as just that, an individual issue. But all too often what ...
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