The Best Relationship Advice That Everyone Needs to Hear (From the World’s #1 Love Researchers) — Transcript
Full transcript
- 0:00Today, you and I are here with Dr. Julie
- 0:02and Dr. John Gottman. They are the
- 0:04world's leading experts on love and what
- 0:07[music] it takes to make a relationship
- 0:09work.
- 0:09>> We had couples talk about a conflict
- 0:11issue for 15 minutes. [music] We could
- 0:13predict with almost 90% accuracy whether
- 0:17they would divorce or stay together and
- 0:19if they stayed together, how [music]
- 0:21happily married or unhappily married
- 0:23they would be.
- 0:24>> Wow. They're teaching you [music] and me
- 0:26everything we need to know about the
- 0:28four things that'll blow up your
- 0:29relationships and what you can do to
- 0:32break these [music] patterns of
- 0:34conflict. So the first one is criticism.
- 0:38Criticism means [music]
- 0:39blaming a problem on a personality flaw
- 0:43of your partner. Secondly is contempt.
- 0:47And contempt [music] is the worst one we
- 0:50have. You're coming from a place of
- 0:52superiority. looking down your nose at
- 0:56your partner. The third horseman is
- 0:59defensiveness. And then there's
- 1:02>> How do you tell someone that [music]
- 1:04it's not that you're worried about them,
- 1:05it's that you're losing interest in
- 1:07them?
- 1:07>> No.
- 1:08>> I love you so so so much.
- 1:11>> That's nice to hear.
- 1:13>> But
- 1:13>> Oh, there's a butt. [laughter]
- 1:15>> I'm sorry I'm laughing, but I You two
- 1:17are adorable. And we have all been in a
- 1:20relationship like that. Within 3 minutes
- 1:23flat, [music] you can predict whether a
- 1:25couple is going to break up or still be
- 1:26together in 6 years. What are you
- 1:28looking for?
- 1:28>> If I was going to boil it down to one
- 1:30[music] thing.
- 1:32>> Hey, it's Mel. I am so excited about
- 1:34this episode. I know it's coming. It is
- 1:37extraordinary. You're going to love
- 1:38this. But one thing that my team just
- 1:40showed me that I don't love so much, 51%
- 1:43of you who watch here on YouTube, you're
- 1:45not subscribers. So, here's my request.
- 1:48Our goal as a team is to get that number
- 1:50to 40%. If the subscribe button is lit
- 1:52up, would you please just hit subscribe?
- 1:54It's free. It's the best way to say,
- 1:56"Hey, thanks everybody. Thanks for
- 1:57putting out free content here on YouTube
- 1:59for me. Thanks for all the worldrenowned
- 2:01experts that are helping me improve my
- 2:02life." I appreciate you doing that. And
- 2:05that way you also won't miss a thing.
- 2:06Thank you for doing that for us. We love
- 2:09you and you're going to love this
- 2:11episode. So, let's jump into it. Please
- 2:13help me welcome the extraordinary Dr.
- 2:16John and Dr. Julie Godman to the Mel
- 2:18Robbins podcast. No, we're so happy to
- 2:21be here, Mel. Thank you.
- 2:22>> Oh, honor is mine. Honor is mine. You
- 2:26know, I would love to have you start by
- 2:29just thinking about the thousands of
- 2:32couples that you have researched and
- 2:35this extraordinary body of work that
- 2:39spans 50 years. and speak to the person
- 2:43who is listening right now and share
- 2:46what might change about their
- 2:48relationships
- 2:50if they really take to heart all of this
- 2:52research and wisdom and they apply it as
- 2:55soon as they're done listening.
- 2:57>> Beautiful. You know, I think uh two
- 3:00things I would say that really change.
- 3:04One is that hopefully conflict, which is
- 3:08absolutely normal in every relationship,
- 3:11becomes more calm, more gentle, and more
- 3:14constructive, also [snorts] more
- 3:17compassionate. Because the real theme of
- 3:22conflict is to understand your partner
- 3:25better. It's not to tear your partner
- 3:27down. [snorts] It's to really get inside
- 3:30their world and understand where they're
- 3:33coming from. So hopefully that might
- 3:37take place after listening to your
- 3:41beautiful show. And I would say
- 3:44secondly,
- 3:45maybe they do more to express gratitude.
- 3:49Maybe they ask more questions of their
- 3:51partner to really understand where their
- 3:54partner is at here and now internally.
- 3:58They may have known them when they were
- 4:00first dating, knew that world, but
- 4:03people evolve and change. So, who are
- 4:06they now? Asking questions draws that
- 4:09out. Mhm. Yeah. I would I would say that
- 4:13um in all the 54 years of of studying
- 4:17couples and my friend Bob Levenson and I
- 4:21started this research way back then and
- 4:24neither of us had a clue about what
- 4:26makes relationships work. We went from
- 4:28one disaster to another. And if I was
- 4:31going to boil it down to one thing, I
- 4:33have this invention that I keep in my
- 4:36back pocket and it's a little notebook
- 4:40and I keep it there all the time. And if
- 4:44Julie utters the four terrifying words,
- 4:49we need to talk. I get out my notebook
- 4:52very slowly so I can delay my reaction.
- 4:56I get out my pen very slowly and I open
- 5:00the book up very slowly and and then I
- 5:04say, "Okay, baby, talk to me. What's on
- 5:08your mind? What's on your heart?" And I
- 5:10write down what she's saying. And the
- 5:14more defensive I feel, the more I take
- 5:17notes and slow her down. Because I think
- 5:20the one thing we've discovered is that
- 5:22the masters of relationships, the ones
- 5:25who are happy and stay together,
- 5:27really seem to have a model that when
- 5:31your partner's upset about anything, the
- 5:34world stops and you listen. And this is
- 5:37my way of listening, taking notes, and
- 5:41doing it very slowly so I can calm down
- 5:44and not react quickly by saying
- 5:47something I' I'll regret later
- 5:49[laughter] on.
- 5:51>> I want to just pause.
- 5:52>> Okay, that's okay.
- 5:54>> You know what's adorable about you two,
- 5:56and if you're listening, I'm just going
- 5:59to describe it. If you're watching this
- 6:01episode, you will have already seen it.
- 6:04Is that you both keep turning toward one
- 6:08another and smiling
- 6:12and you have this very
- 6:15warm,
- 6:17loving gaze at one another as the other
- 6:20is talking.
- 6:21>> How can you not love [laughter] this?
- 6:23This is beautiful.
- 6:25And you also are like holding hands and
- 6:27there's a there's a physical touch
- 6:29connection. Oh yeah.
- 6:30>> Which is extremely noticeable
- 6:33>> because you don't see it all that often
- 6:36in couples. And I wanted to just
- 6:39>> unpack
- 6:41the genius of your response, Dr.
- 6:44Gottman, to those four terrifying words,
- 6:47we need to talk.
- 6:49>> Right. Um, which I'm also realizing
- 6:53sometimes I don't give Chris the grace
- 6:55of preparing him for the fact that I'm
- 6:58about to blast at him like a volcano.
- 7:01[laughter]
- 7:01But what I loved because I do think
- 7:05there is something very intentional
- 7:08about what you just described
- 7:11that as you're imagining Dr. gotman and
- 7:14he leaned forward and he reached into
- 7:16his back pocket and he pulled out a a
- 7:19notebook that's like the size of a 3x5
- 7:22card, right?
- 7:23>> And or you opened it up slowly and then
- 7:26you said you started to write
- 7:29>> and that is your way of listening. But
- 7:32it's so important to also point out as
- 7:35you're as you're hearing this that you
- 7:38are also managing your reaction
- 7:41>> exactly
- 7:42>> in the middle of what could become an
- 7:44argument or conflict.
- 7:45>> Yeah. Delay is the way of engaging the
- 7:49frontal loes instead of reacting direct
- 7:52from your amygdala you know which is
- 7:55terror right and defensiveness comes
- 7:57out. So when you engage the brain uh the
- 8:01thinking brain then you can be a little
- 8:04little less defensive.
- 8:05>> Yeah. Let me add that you can be uh less
- 8:09physiologically aroused. You know, one
- 8:11of the things that we found in our
- 8:13research is that often times people can
- 8:16be sitting as calmly as John and I are
- 8:19right now having a conflict, but one of
- 8:22their heart rates will be over a 100
- 8:25beats a minute and they've gone into
- 8:27fight or flight, which means blood has
- 8:31left this preffrontal cortex, moved back
- 8:34into the motor cortex. They cannot think
- 8:37clearly, listen clearly.
- 8:41problem solve and be creative. It's
- 8:43impossible because this is offline.
- 8:46>> So by John pulling out that notebook
- 8:50very slowly, there's a couple of ways
- 8:54it's wonderful. For one, it keeps you
- 8:57calm. It keeps you more more focused on
- 9:01>> kind of the cognitive element Yeah. of
- 9:04what I'm saying as opposed to [gasps]
- 9:08did he did she really say that or or for
- 9:13me what it tells me is that gosh he's
- 9:16going to take me seriously
- 9:19>> right he's not going to be thinking
- 9:21about okay when do I get the oil changed
- 9:24in the car I can tell that he's
- 9:27listening because he is taking notes and
- 9:30that's meaningful for me it helps me to
- 9:33feel his presence and it's a wonderful
- 9:36thing for all of you to do as well.
- 9:39>> I love that. And I I could imagine Dr.
- 9:42Gottman reaching Hold on, let me get my
- 9:44notebook [laughter] out of my pocket
- 9:46here. Um, you study love in a lab. What
- 9:51does that mean for the person that's not
- 9:53familiar with your groundbreaking
- 9:56foundational research on relationships?
- 9:59What do you do?
- 10:00>> Yeah. So, um, Julie and I, uh, after we
- 10:04first met, you know, we designed this
- 10:07apartment where 130 newlywed couples
- 10:11just a couple of months after the
- 10:12wedding would spend 24 hours, cameras
- 10:15rolling, no instructions, you know, they
- 10:18have an opportunity to eat together,
- 10:23clean up together, you know, read the
- 10:25newspaper, watch TV, whatever they want
- 10:28to do. And the cameras are just rolling.
- 10:30And while they're walking around, we're
- 10:33measuring their heart rate. They're
- 10:34measuring all kinds of physiological
- 10:36measures. Every time they urinate, we
- 10:38take a blood we take a sample and
- 10:40measure stress hormones. And then we
- 10:43take blood from them the next day and
- 10:45and look at the immune system and stress
- 10:48hormones and immune system. So, we're
- 10:50just kind of watching couples. And it
- 10:53turns out that we can predict the future
- 10:55of the relationship six years later from
- 10:58the way they interacted in that
- 11:00apartment lab.
- 11:01>> So the prediction is really 94% accurate
- 11:06>> at predicting the future.
- 11:08>> So you could predict with 94% accuracy
- 11:10who was going to make it and who wasn't.
- 11:12>> That's right.
- 11:13>> This is like the original reality TV. It
- 11:16sounds like you guys invented the
- 11:17format.
- 11:18>> That's right. Let me add also that this
- 11:21brilliant man over here created a
- 11:24fantastic
- 11:26system for codifying emotions. That
- 11:29means looking at the face, looking at
- 11:32the movements of the body, looking at
- 11:34the words, the tone of voice, the eye
- 11:37gaze and assessing from that what
- 11:41emotion is that individual feeling when
- 11:44they speak. Then what's the other
- 11:47individual going to respond with? What
- 11:49kind of feeling is that? So we call that
- 11:52spaf specific affect which means emotion
- 11:55specific affect coding.
- 11:58And that in itself tells us a huge
- 12:02amount about the dynamic. Who's being
- 12:06belligerent? Who's being doineering? Who
- 12:09is being subordinate?
- 12:11Who's being kind? who's trying to make a
- 12:15repair if they said the wrong thing so
- 12:20that the other person doesn't get their
- 12:21feelings hurt
- 12:22>> or using humor as a way to wind things
- 12:25down. Humor turns out to be very
- 12:27important,
- 12:28>> right? Why is how we handle conflict so
- 12:32important in a relationship?
- 12:34>> Because we fight all the time.
- 12:36[laughter]
- 12:37We are human beings. You know, one of
- 12:40the things, Mel, that I have really
- 12:42tried to understand since I was a kid is
- 12:46how come people are mean to each other?
- 12:49>> Why is that? What's evil? What does that
- 12:51even mean?
- 12:53>> What I've really understood from lots of
- 12:56archaeological reading and so on is that
- 13:00people have aggression. They've also got
- 13:03altruism. They can be very, very kind.
- 13:06But all of us have those aggressive
- 13:08instincts inside of us. [snorts] So what
- 13:11happens with it? Typically it goes to
- 13:15the person that's closest to us because
- 13:20that person we assume is not going to
- 13:22abandon us, is not going to run away.
- 13:26They're going to be there to listen to
- 13:28us. And so we have personality
- 13:32differences from our partner, lifestyle
- 13:35preference differences from our partner.
- 13:39Everybody has those. And 69%
- 13:44of the issues couples struggle with are
- 13:46perpetual conflicts. They never ever go
- 13:50away.
- 13:50>> That was a big surprise to us.
- 13:52>> Yeah. So they just keep coming up,
- 13:55right, over and over and over again in
- 13:57some different format through the side
- 13:59door. So what do you do with that? Well,
- 14:04people can avoid those, sweep them under
- 14:07the rug, but you know, they don't have
- 14:10conflict, but they grow more distant
- 14:12typically over time. Or they can learn
- 14:16to really talk in a way that's calm,
- 14:20little bit of emotion, maybe a little
- 14:23more intellectual, you know, trying to
- 14:25solve the problem very fast. We call
- 14:28those validators. And then there's me.
- 14:31I'm a volatile like maybe you are. And
- 14:35we love to explode. We love to be
- 14:39passionate about expressing our
- 14:42emotions. and I'm a conflict avoider.
- 14:44>> It's a great combo. So,
- 14:47>> we figured it out over time.
- 14:50>> Um, we're going to get into these
- 14:52different types,
- 14:54>> but before we do, I want to just talk a
- 14:57little bit about the research because
- 14:58it's so fascinating.
- 15:00>> Sure. Um, you've already mentioned that
- 15:02by observing a couple in this apartment
- 15:06love lab, you could predict with 94%
- 15:10accuracy,
- 15:10>> right,
- 15:11>> whether or not they were going to be
- 15:12together in 6 years.
- 15:13>> That's correct.
- 15:14>> And we're going to get into what you
- 15:16were looking at that really was the
- 15:19signal that they're not going to make
- 15:20it. But there's also interesting
- 15:23research that you have around how the
- 15:25first three minutes of a fight predict
- 15:29everything,
- 15:30>> right?
- 15:31>> Let's hear about that.
- 15:32>> You know, Bob and I found that um that
- 15:35if we we had couples talk about a
- 15:37conflict issue for 15 minutes, we could
- 15:40predict with almost 90% accuracy whether
- 15:44they would divorce or stay together. And
- 15:46if they stayed together, how happily
- 15:48married or unhappily married they would
- 15:50be. But then somebody in my lab, civil
- 15:53career, said, "What if we lop off the
- 15:56data from the last 3 minutes and we only
- 15:58have 12 minutes? What's the prediction
- 16:00like with only 12 minutes of data?" And
- 16:03it was just fine. And she said, "Well,
- 16:06let's lop off another 3 minutes." And it
- 16:09was just fine. She got down to the first
- 16:12three minutes and we were still
- 16:14predicting the future of the
- 16:16relationship very accurately by just
- 16:18looking at that first three minutes
- 16:21because couples who really are going to
- 16:25wind up divorced or together unhappily
- 16:28start off the conversation really
- 16:30differently from couples who are we call
- 16:33the masters of relationship. That
- 16:35beginning is so important.
- 16:37Now I'm like, "Okay, well, what's the
- 16:39beginning that predicts divorce and
- 16:41breakup
- 16:42>> versus the beginning that doesn't?"
- 16:45>> I have an idea. Let's role play it.
- 16:46>> Let's do it.
- 16:47>> Let's role play it.
- 16:48>> Sure.
- 16:48>> All right. So, this is predictive of
- 16:51going down. [laughter]
- 16:53>> Yeah. Well, so I I wanted to talk to you
- 16:55about this. I really think that you're
- 16:57you're really ruining this marriage and
- 17:00it's it's it's your responsibility
- 17:02because you're being so obsessive
- 17:06compulsively looking at Let me finish.
- 17:09>> I'm not going to let you finish. You're
- 17:10such a slob that you know I can't even
- 17:14walk through the room.
- 17:16>> I am charmingly uh sloppy. But you are
- 17:20really a nut. I mean you're you need
- 17:23therapy. You really do. I mean,
- 17:26everything has to be perfect for you.
- 17:28Everything's got to be perfect.
- 17:30>> Well, that's right. And I need just to
- 17:32live with you.
- 17:33>> I don't even want to talk about this
- 17:34anymore.
- 17:35>> All right.
- 17:38>> I feel like I now know what it's like to
- 17:41be a marriage therapist watching
- 17:43[laughter] the two of you.
- 17:44>> You ain't seen nothing.
- 17:46>> That could be worse. I once had somebody
- 17:49who was so upset, so flooded, and she
- 17:54was all of about 4'10
- 17:56and her husband was 6'5 and had cheated
- 17:59on her, etc. So, I tried to calm her
- 18:03down. She finally sat down on the couch
- 18:07and my couch was a beautiful red
- 18:10leather, gorgeous couch. When she left,
- 18:13there were scratch marks on the couch.
- 18:16Wow. that that
- 18:18>> I bet her heart rate was up. I bet it
- 18:20was. So, unpack what was happening
- 18:23>> in that because I think that we've all
- 18:27experienced those kinds of fights,
- 18:29whether it's about the relationship or
- 18:30now you're arguing about, well, you're
- 18:32you're you're giving the kid too much
- 18:34money and d and you're overparenting and
- 18:37like, you know, aiming it like what was
- 18:39happening in that fight you just had. So
- 18:42I was describing the problem in terms of
- 18:46her personality being deficient
- 18:49>> that there was something wrong with her.
- 18:51It was all her fault.
- 18:52>> So you you you
- 18:56that's all he was saying. And of course
- 18:59I got defensive and I counterattacked.
- 19:02That's a classic form of defensiveness.
- 19:04You counterattack, right? [snorts]
- 19:06>> So then I moved into you, you you you.
- 19:10And it was all about character flaws.
- 19:14>> He's a slob.
- 19:16>> That's right.
- 19:16>> And all I'm doing is trying to give her
- 19:18feedback about what's wrong with her so
- 19:20she can improve cuz I'm pretty much
- 19:22perfect as far as I can tell.
- 19:24>> See this? It's a halo. It's a halo.
- 19:26[laughter]
- 19:26>> It's not a yamaka. It's a halo that God
- 19:29gave me. So I'm always innocent and it's
- 19:31always her fault. [laughter]
- 19:34>> That's the way the disasters argue.
- 19:36>> And notice, did you see any listening
- 19:39there?
- 19:40No, zero listening. Zero.
- 19:43>> That's right. So, people were talking
- 19:45over each other and immediately coming
- 19:49up with their rebuke before even hearing
- 19:52the last words of their sentence and the
- 19:55partner.
- 19:56>> Right away, persuasion enters.
- 19:59>> I'm trying to persuade her that I'm
- 20:01right and she's wrong, you know, and I
- 20:04haven't even listened to what what her
- 20:06concerns are. Right. The other thing
- 20:08that happened is the volume,
- 20:11>> right,
- 20:12>> started getting higher and higher and
- 20:15higher, right? Right.
- 20:16>> Because neither one of you were
- 20:18listening and you're both blaming and
- 20:20now you're trying to talk over one
- 20:22another and then you both went like,
- 20:25>> and if I'm if I'm physiologically
- 20:27flooded,
- 20:29>> I think all I need to do is repeat
- 20:31myself louder in order to be more
- 20:34persuasive. That's the way I reason when
- 20:37I'm flooded.
- 20:38>> 63 times later. Have I listened?
- 20:41[laughter]
- 20:42No.
- 20:44What does a positive
- 20:47argument look like?
- 20:49>> Okay. Let's Let's role model that. We
- 20:51can use the same top.
- 20:52>> Okay. Yeah.
- 20:53>> Okay. So,
- 20:55>> what's going on, honey?
- 20:56>> Well, I'm I'm I'm kind of thinking that
- 20:58um I can't do anything right. You know,
- 21:01I I've tried I've tried, you know, being
- 21:04neater, more tidy, cleaning things up,
- 21:07and you know, it's never good enough for
- 21:09you. It feels like that, you know, like
- 21:10like I can't satisfy you. It's just like
- 21:14I I kind of give up, you know, what am I
- 21:17supposed to do to make you happy?
- 21:20>> Oh god, that sounds actually like a
- 21:22pretty terrible feeling.
- 21:24>> Yeah. So, you're really frustrated
- 21:27because there's nothing you can do that
- 21:30you feel is good enough. Is that right?
- 21:32Am I making you feel that way?
- 21:34>> Yeah.
- 21:34>> Oh, dear. What am I doing that leads to
- 21:38you feeling that way? Cuz I don't want
- 21:40you to feel that way. I don't want to
- 21:42treat you.
- 21:42>> Well, you know, like for example, you
- 21:44asked me to clean up the kitchen, you
- 21:46know, so I I clean it up, you know, and
- 21:50it doesn't meet your standards. So, I
- 21:52don't even know what your standards are.
- 21:54I mean,
- 21:54>> do you want me to tell you what they
- 21:56are? Probably not.
- 21:57>> Well, no, that would help. I really
- 21:59would like to know. Yeah.
- 22:00>> Oh, god.
- 22:01>> Cuz I think I've done it
- 22:02>> just fine.
- 22:03>> Okay.
- 22:04>> And then you're disappointed.
- 22:06>> I just don't get it.
- 22:08>> I see. Well, I tell you what, what would
- 22:11make a huge difference for me, right,
- 22:14>> is after washing
- 22:16>> Let me Let me write this down.
- 22:17>> Okay, that's a great idea. Get out your
- 22:20notebook.
- 22:21>> Yeah.
- 22:23Hang on a minute.
- 22:25>> Okay,
- 22:26>> let me just breathe a little bit.
- 22:28[laughter]
- 22:29Okay,
- 22:29>> I promise I won't hurt your face.
- 22:32>> After after washing the dishes.
- 22:34>> Yeah,
- 22:35>> it would be wonderful if you would wipe
- 22:38down the counters,
- 22:40>> you know, just get all those crumbs into
- 22:42the sink and then rinse them down the
- 22:46sink. That's really all I need, just to
- 22:50have counters that are clean. That would
- 22:53make a huge difference for me.
- 22:55>> Okay.
- 22:55>> It would feel great.
- 22:57>> You know, I really can't tell when uh
- 22:59counter is clean or not cuz it's got,
- 23:02you know, you got this pattern of, you
- 23:05know,
- 23:06Yeah,
- 23:07>> this is true. This is why I chose a
- 23:11counter with brown in it. It would
- 23:14disguise all of your
- 23:15>> Just wipe it down really well.
- 23:17>> Just wipe it. Yeah, just wipe it. That's
- 23:19all you have to do.
- 23:20>> All right. All right. I I can do that.
- 23:22>> Would you Would you mind doing that?
- 23:24>> I'll do that.
- 23:25>> Yay.
- 23:26>> Oh my god. I love you, too.
- 23:28>> Makes sense. [laughter]
- 23:29>> I You are adorable.
- 23:32>> We're okay.
- 23:34>> Can you explain what just happened
- 23:37in that
- 23:39conflict?
- 23:40>> Yeah. Yeah. Easy. So, it started it
- 23:45started in a perfect way, which was John
- 23:49bringing up that he's feeling bad about
- 23:52an interaction of ours.
- 23:55>> But notice he's not saying you're a
- 23:57schmuck and that's why I feel bad. He's
- 24:00saying, I feel like I can't do anything
- 24:04right. So, is you in there? No. He is
- 24:09having that feeling which pulls on my
- 24:13heart. Mel,
- 24:14>> he's being vulnerable with me and
- 24:17telling me what his feeling is like. And
- 24:20that feeling I'm translating into, oh
- 24:23god, he's feeling hopeless.
- 24:25>> He's feeling despair. I don't want him
- 24:28to feel that way. But here's the kicker.
- 24:32I want to understand what's making him
- 24:35feel that way. So instead of just
- 24:38responding
- 24:40with, you know, just a comment, I ask a
- 24:43question
- 24:44>> to try to understand, tell me more. Tell
- 24:48me more. Because, you know, it's sort of
- 24:51like if something pretty smelly is
- 24:54bubbling up from the earth, I want to
- 24:58know what's under the earth. you know
- 24:59what's going on down there that is
- 25:03creating something that feels bad for
- 25:05him. So I ask him a question and that
- 25:09gives me information about, oh,
- 25:13that's what's happening inside. That's
- 25:15something that we can change.
- 25:18It leads to a solution. I love this
- 25:21example and I'm going to tell you why.
- 25:24I
- 25:26personally know that Chris and I for
- 25:29years would have this reoccurring fight.
- 25:32And when I'm volcanoing and he's
- 25:36turtling, when he pokes his head out of
- 25:38the shell to say something, it would
- 25:40literally be nothing's ever good enough
- 25:42for you.
- 25:43>> Yeah.
- 25:44>> And I think that's a very common
- 25:48like way that people then bark at each
- 25:51other. And it's very different to say,
- 25:54"Well, nothing's good enough for you. I
- 25:55don't even know what to do because it's
- 25:56never enough for you."
- 25:59>> Versus what you just taught us,
- 26:02>> Mhm.
- 26:03>> which is instead of accusing nothing,
- 26:05it's you,
- 26:07>> I feel that no matter what I do, it's
- 26:11never enough. And you're right. As soon
- 26:14as Chris started saying that to me, I
- 26:17immediately feel like a monster. And
- 26:19then I want to know, okay, well, what
- 26:21what exactly? I'm sorry.
- 26:23>> Yeah.
- 26:23>> And I can see why this works.
- 26:25>> Sure. Right.
- 26:25>> Right.
- 26:26>> You know, if couples fight the first
- 26:28way, yelling at each other, it's never
- 26:31enough for you. Fine. Door slams. Go
- 26:34into your corners. Is there hope? Sure.
- 26:38Of course. You know, the thing is this.
- 26:42When in our lab we saw couples who were
- 26:45going down the road of distress,
- 26:48remember they weren't getting any
- 26:50intervention.
- 26:51>> They weren't reading anything. They
- 26:53weren't listening to fabulous podcasts
- 26:56like yours. They weren't trying to learn
- 26:59a different manner of relating to one
- 27:03another. So without intervention,
- 27:05they're falling back on old habits, on
- 27:08what they learned at the feet of their
- 27:10parents or caretakers, which didn't
- 27:13work. So, you know, nobody takes
- 27:16relationships 101 in high school. You
- 27:19got to learn different ways of talking
- 27:22to one another. The Mel Robbins podcast
- 27:25is proudly sponsored by AMA Insurance,
- 27:28our exclusive auto, home, and life
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- 28:26quote today.
- 28:28When somebody says to you, "Oh, we never
- 28:30fight."
- 28:33>> What do you think?
- 28:36>> I think they're probably conflict
- 28:38avoiders. And I think, oh dear,
- 28:42[laughter]
- 28:43we've got to help this couple surface,
- 28:47unear
- 28:49[snorts] the differences, the things
- 28:51that are irritating, annoying. Because
- 28:54if you hold them inside and you don't
- 28:57bring them up, after a while they
- 28:59accumulate and then you may end up with
- 29:03an eruption, right,
- 29:05>> which doesn't help anybody.
- 29:07>> One thing that can happen, um, we saw in
- 29:11this study that the Sloan Center at UCLA
- 29:14did on dual career couples with young
- 29:17children, and they spent less than 10%
- 29:20of an evening in the same room. They
- 29:23talked to each other an average of 35
- 29:25minutes a week and mostly what they
- 29:28talked about was errands. Who's going to
- 29:30do what when. So they they wound up
- 29:33really living these parallel lives where
- 29:37they ignored the relationship. They
- 29:39ignored friendship, intimacy,
- 29:42fun, adventure. They were just their
- 29:46lives had devolved into this infinite
- 29:49to-do list that they did together. But
- 29:52that was the only contact they had. So
- 29:54they lived life in parallel. You know,
- 29:57he he goes to work, she goes to work,
- 29:59they come home, they you know, they're
- 30:01with the kids, but they're not really
- 30:04talking to each other. They're not
- 30:05saying, "God, you know, we used to have
- 30:08so much fun and we don't have any
- 30:09anymore. We're just kind of becoming
- 30:11drudges." They don't say that to one
- 30:14another.
- 30:14>> They say roommates.
- 30:16>> They stay roommates. They avoid
- 30:18conflict. They avoid saying how lonely
- 30:21they are, how unhappy they are, how much
- 30:23they miss the way they used to really
- 30:26pay attention to the relationship.
- 30:27>> If the person listening is thinking,
- 30:29"Well, that's me."
- 30:30>> Because I can think of periods of Chris
- 30:33and my marriage where we have three kids
- 30:35who are now all in their 20s,
- 30:37>> but when they were little,
- 30:39>> that was us.
- 30:40>> That was you. We were two ships passing
- 30:42in the morning and the night and arguing
- 30:44about who didn't go to the grocery store
- 30:46and that no matter what I do, it's never
- 30:48enough.
- 30:49>> Yeah. You have to build in rituals of
- 30:51connection in the relationship. build in
- 30:54times that you can count on having your
- 30:57partner's ears. And you know, we have an
- 31:00annual honeymoon that we do. And for 27
- 31:03years, we've gone to the same bed and
- 31:05breakfast and took took our kayak and we
- 31:09spend two weeks asking each other three
- 31:12questions. What sucked about last year?
- 31:15What did you hate about last year? What
- 31:18did you love about last year? And what
- 31:20do you want next year to be like?
- 31:23So we we have that ritual where we know
- 31:26we can connect and it's romantic and
- 31:29it's fun and we kayak and you know we
- 31:31hike and you know it's always magic. Let
- 31:35me point out though what John is talking
- 31:37about especially for really busy two
- 31:41career couples
- 31:42>> are those rituals of connection but they
- 31:45don't have to be great big uh you know
- 31:49broadcasts. They can be something so
- 31:52simple like how do you say good morning
- 31:56first thing when you wake up? How do you
- 31:59say good night and you look forward to
- 32:02that?
- 32:03What do you do on the weekends when you
- 32:06get to sleep in?
- 32:08How about a date night? You know, I
- 32:12mean, lots of people talk about that,
- 32:13but do they actually do it?
- 32:16>> So, there's so many ways we can connect
- 32:19with one another that sustains the sense
- 32:23that uh they're right beside me. They're
- 32:26right there even though they're in a
- 32:28different office. I love that
- 32:30recommendation because I do think when
- 32:32you're in that moment as the research
- 32:34suggests, which I think most couples are
- 32:37both probably working because of the
- 32:38reality of how expensive life is.
- 32:41>> That's right.
- 32:41>> And coming and going and that only 35
- 32:46minutes a week in the I mean that's just
- 32:49>> and I appreciate the small thing like
- 32:52could you create something first thing
- 32:54in the morning? Could you create
- 32:55something that's part of the windown at
- 32:58night? One of the things that I remember
- 33:00that made a big difference and I'll just
- 33:01share it in case it's helpful for the
- 33:03person listening is since logistics was
- 33:05the reality and it was also the source
- 33:07of all of our conflict that we the one
- 33:11connection ritual that really changed
- 33:13things was we had a Sunday night
- 33:14calendar meeting.
- 33:15>> Now that doesn't exactly sound like a
- 33:17date night.
- 33:18>> Yeah. But it became
- 33:20a consistent thing we could do every
- 33:23week that helped us be aligned
- 33:27>> and helped us coordinate the logistics
- 33:30at one point.
- 33:32>> You were a team.
- 33:33>> Yes. And to this day, we do it.
- 33:37>> That's great.
- 33:38>> And it's just the smallest of things.
- 33:40And the other thing that I'll I have to
- 33:42give a huge shout out to Chris that he
- 33:43does that makes a big difference for me
- 33:46is he puts little notes just kind of
- 33:50like the the notebook you have. He'll
- 33:52rip out a page and just put I love you
- 33:53and I'll open up my eyeglass case in the
- 33:56middle of the day
- 33:57>> and there it is.
- 33:58>> Or I'll open up my wallet and there it
- 34:01is. And I had no idea that he had done
- 34:04that. And so it's kind of this little
- 34:06signal that I'm still here with you even
- 34:10though I may not be standing next to
- 34:12you.
- 34:12>> You know, a consistent research finding
- 34:14is that you cannot just focus on
- 34:17conflict as a therapist. You have to
- 34:20work on friendship and intimacy,
- 34:23>> romance, passion, play, and fun. You
- 34:26have to work on all of that together. It
- 34:28It's not enough to just make conflict
- 34:31better. You really have to bring you
- 34:34know the two souls together [laughter]
- 34:36in a way that is it brings joy into the
- 34:41relationship. Let me just mention
- 34:43something about your meeting which is
- 34:46fabulous doing that as a ritual of
- 34:48connection. One thing that we also talk
- 34:52about is a weekly meeting which often
- 34:55takes place on Sundays. We call it the
- 34:57state of the union. Right? And so um
- 35:02what we suggest is that first you begin
- 35:06with gratitude. You think of something
- 35:10your partner has done that maybe you
- 35:13haven't yet thanked them for and you
- 35:16express your gratitude and your
- 35:18appreciation to your partner for having
- 35:21done that. You know so often we take our
- 35:25partners for granted right especially
- 35:26after years of being together. So all of
- 35:30us however still need to be seen. We
- 35:34need to be appreciated. [snorts] And so
- 35:37starting with that is lovely. And then
- 35:40in the middle piece maybe there is a
- 35:42complaint that you have you haven't
- 35:44talked about or maybe you had a little
- 35:47regrettable incident that you need to
- 35:49process. [clears throat]
- 35:50Clear the air about that. Try and
- 35:52understand what went wrong during that
- 35:54and what to do right next time. And then
- 35:59you end the meeting with another
- 36:01appreciation, another expression of
- 36:04gratitude. I mean, there's there's
- 36:06nothing better than hearing gratitude as
- 36:11a sign that look, you're visible. You're
- 36:16important to me. I see who you are. I
- 36:20love what you do. And I want you to know
- 36:25I recognize you. And it's you're
- 36:28beautiful.
- 36:28>> And a great question to end the meeting
- 36:30with is what can I do next week to make
- 36:33you feel loved?
- 36:35>> Is that the best question in the world?
- 36:37>> I know.
- 36:38>> I would love to have us just really
- 36:42highlight the warning signs around
- 36:46conflict. And there are four horsemen of
- 36:49the apocalypse in your relationship.
- 36:51What are they?
- 36:52>> Okay, so the first one is criticism.
- 36:56Criticism means blaming a problem on a
- 37:00personality flaw of your partner.
- 37:03>> Like you're so selfish, you're so lazy,
- 37:05you're so inconsiderate, thoughtless,
- 37:07whatever. So a characteristic that's bad
- 37:12that you're seeing in your partner.
- 37:14That's criticism. Okay. Secondly is
- 37:18contempt.
- 37:20And contempt is the worst one we have.
- 37:23Contempt is like criticism, but you're
- 37:27coming from a place of superiority,
- 37:30looking down your nose at your partner,
- 37:33and you're sneering a little bit. You've
- 37:37got a look of disgust maybe on your
- 37:39face. There's scorn. There's mockery.
- 37:42Sometimes sarcasm
- 37:45is contempt. And contempt is not only
- 37:48the best predictor of relationship
- 37:51demise, but as John was saying, and I'll
- 37:54fine-tune it a little bit, the number of
- 37:57times a listener hears contempt in a
- 38:02conflict for 15 minutes predicts how
- 38:06many infectious illnesses they're going
- 38:08to have in the next four years.
- 38:12>> Right? because it is sulfuric acid for
- 38:15the immune system.
- 38:17>> Yeah, it's a big deal. The third
- 38:20horseman is defensiveness.
- 38:23We all love defensiveness. Everybody's
- 38:26defensive unless they have an ego of a
- 38:28rock. I haven't met a rock lately. So
- 38:32defensiveness
- 38:33gets manifested as either counterattack
- 38:37as we described or whining.
- 38:42>> Oh, I did too. Clean the kitchen. What
- 38:46do you mean? Okay. I love whining. It's
- 38:49It's great. And then there's
- 38:52stonewalling. And stonewalling is
- 38:55completely shutting down. But it's not
- 38:57shutting down for just a few seconds,
- 38:59you know, to come up with the right
- 39:01phrase. It's shutting down completely
- 39:05>> for minutes, minutes, minutes, long
- 39:08minutes, maybe hours at a time. And what
- 39:11brilliant John here and his colleague
- 39:14Bob Levenson discovered with physiology
- 39:18is that when a person was flooded, they
- 39:21were in fight or flight. Their heart
- 39:23rates were often over a 100 beats a
- 39:26minute as they sat there
- 39:28>> and they started stonewalling
- 39:29>> and they started stonewalling in order
- 39:33to go inside and try and soothe
- 39:36themselves because being in fight or
- 39:39flight while you're sitting there feels
- 39:41awful. Makes you sick.
- 39:44>> So that turtle thing that Chris does,
- 39:46right? Yes. you know, and he's just
- 39:48starting to calm himself down, but to
- 39:49the person speaking to him, it looks
- 39:52like he doesn't care.
- 39:53>> Correct.
- 39:54>> You know, and he's out yelling. I'm
- 39:57yelling cuz he's like not responding.
- 39:59>> That's right. So,
- 40:00>> and it makes it worse. Yes. I can see
- 40:02that. Well, the other thing is that uh
- 40:04Bob and I also as we kept following
- 40:07couples, we found there was a group of
- 40:08couples who didn't do the four horsemen,
- 40:12but when they talked about the events of
- 40:14the day,
- 40:16there was no connection.
- 40:18>> And they even went out of their way to
- 40:20show that they were bored with their
- 40:22partner talking about their day. So,
- 40:25it's not that they had all this negative
- 40:27stuff. They didn't have very much
- 40:29positivity, not very much interest in
- 40:31one another, not very much shared humor,
- 40:34affection, and those couples divorce an
- 40:37average of 16 years after the wedding.
- 40:40>> They last longer,
- 40:41>> but you know, it's still disaster.
- 40:44>> I would love to go deeper into all four
- 40:46of the horsemen of the apocalypse of a
- 40:49relationship. Could you describe for the
- 40:51person who's listening right now, what
- 40:54do you mean by flooding? So if
- 40:56somebody's never heard this term
- 40:59>> um
- 41:00>> and they're not quite and you know I
- 41:03think there's a it's kind of obvious if
- 41:04you're like the stonewaller or rather
- 41:07you shut down and you're like the turtle
- 41:09or you're a volcano like me but can you
- 41:12describe what does it mean to have this
- 41:15emotional flooding and what are the what
- 41:18are the kind of personality types of
- 41:20flooding if you will so the person can
- 41:22see themselves as we unpack back the
- 41:26four different horsemen if that makes
- 41:28sense.
- 41:28>> Sure. Sure. So first of all there is no
- 41:33correlation between personality type and
- 41:37flooding. Anybody can get flooded.
- 41:40>> Anybody first of all
- 41:42>> and what does that mean when you use
- 41:43that term flooded?
- 41:44>> Okay. So what it means is that you are
- 41:48so overwhelmed
- 41:51by what feels like facing a saber-tooth
- 41:55tiger.
- 41:56>> So what's happening is you're hearing
- 41:59what feels like an attack. It may not be
- 42:02one, but it feels like one. And because
- 42:05it feels like an attack, right? [snorts]
- 42:09And it's a dangerous attack. It's
- 42:11threatening. It sets off this
- 42:14fightor-flight response. And so men who
- 42:18experience this and get flooded are
- 42:20going to look like this. They give
- 42:22themselves permission
- 42:25to
- 42:25>> to look away to look away. But a female
- 42:29doesn't typically. And here's why.
- 42:32Because you know as women from you know
- 42:36this high we are trained to relate to
- 42:41others to nurture others to take care of
- 42:44others right to be sensitive to others
- 42:47feelings. So we don't give ourselves
- 42:50permission to break contact and look
- 42:53away. So what flooding for a woman looks
- 42:57like is very different. It looks like
- 42:59this.
- 43:02And you're just kind of staring.
- 43:05>> Nobody's home.
- 43:06>> No one's home.
- 43:07>> Nobody's home. Blank face.
- 43:08>> That's right. You may be meeting the
- 43:11other person's eyes, but nobody's home.
- 43:14You've taken yourself out.
- 43:16>> I just realized my daughter does that.
- 43:19>> Ah.
- 43:19>> When I get like scary
- 43:23that she
- 43:26>> a deer in the headlights.
- 43:27>> Yes. Doesn't know what to do.
- 43:28>> That's right. Yeah. Okay.
- 43:30>> That was very helpful. Because you're
- 43:32right. If and I know that this is all
- 43:35based on your research that for a lot of
- 43:37men it's the crossed arms. It's the
- 43:39looking away. It's the walking out of
- 43:41the room
- 43:42>> or going to make a drink as you're
- 43:43walking
- 43:44>> like following them yelling at them.
- 43:47>> Yes.
- 43:49>> Yeah. Yeah.
- 43:50>> And it and it feels kind of awful in
- 43:52your body, you know. It's it's it's
- 43:54almost like having a panic attack. you
- 43:56know, you're, you know, the breathing is
- 43:58more shallow and more rapid and, you
- 44:01know, it really feels like uh there's no
- 44:04way to win here, you know. I mean, you
- 44:07you just have to escape.
- 44:09>> Yes, I can see that. And you're escaping
- 44:12your body or the room.
- 44:13>> That's right.
- 44:14>> That's that was super helpful. Let's dig
- 44:17into each of the four horsemen and start
- 44:20with criticism.
- 44:22>> Okay. How is criticism defined in the
- 44:24research and
- 44:26>> I'd love to have you role play.
- 44:29>> Sure.
- 44:29>> A example and
- 44:32>> teach us how we can shift out of it.
- 44:36>> Okay.
- 44:37>> When we're in the middle of it,
- 44:38>> let me just mention that the shifting
- 44:41that you are pointing out which is very
- 44:44astute is what we call repair.
- 44:47>> Okay. So making a repair during
- 44:51a conversation is a great way to step
- 44:54aside from those four horsemen and make
- 44:56the conversation flow better.
- 44:59>> Okay. Okay. So um again I think the
- 45:03definition of it would be blaming a
- 45:06problem on a personality flaw of your
- 45:08partner. That's what it is.
- 45:10>> So let me start.
- 45:10>> Okay. Go ahead. I've been
- 45:12[clears throat] uh meaning to talk to
- 45:15you because I think that uh I have
- 45:18something to teach you.
- 45:21You know
- 45:21>> what do you mean?
- 45:22>> Uh well, you know, I noticed that, you
- 45:24know, you kind of get upset when the
- 45:26house is in some kind of disarray and I
- 45:28don't have that problem. You know, I can
- 45:30concentrate really well, you know,
- 45:32whatever's going on around me. So I can
- 45:35kind of teach you to focus your mind
- 45:37more cuz I think your mind is kind of um
- 45:41weak, you know. I think your your mind
- 45:44is not
- 45:44>> You think my mind is weak?
- 45:47>> Yeah. I think you have a weak mind and I
- 45:49can help you strengthen your mind better
- 45:52not as much as I am.
- 45:53>> You did.
- 45:55>> What?
- 45:56>> I don't have a weak mind. What are you
- 45:58talking about?
- 45:58>> Well, I'm just trying to be helpful to
- 46:00you. I you know I'm trying I'm trying to
- 46:03help you strengthen your mind so it's
- 46:05more like my mind.
- 46:06>> I tell you what, go help the dog. Okay.
- 46:10Not me. Okay. So that's criticism.
- 46:13>> All right. Got it.
- 46:14>> The antidote for each of those.
- 46:17>> Yeah. So how do I do that?
- 46:18>> We're going to So I'll make a repair.
- 46:20>> Okay.
- 46:20>> Okay. Okay. So why don't you pick up
- 46:23>> Yeah. [snorts] You know, [clears throat]
- 46:25like I was saying, you know, I really
- 46:27can help you focus your mind better and
- 46:32be more much more like me, you know,
- 46:34>> honey.
- 46:35>> Yeah.
- 46:36>> I need to tell you, I'm really feeling
- 46:38defensive right now.
- 46:40>> You are.
- 46:40>> I don't want to be defensive, but I feel
- 46:43that way. The way that you're describing
- 46:47me feels to me like a put down.
- 46:50>> Oh. Can you say what you want to say in
- 46:53different words?
- 46:55>> Um,
- 46:58well, okay. Um,
- 47:02I think it would be great if even when
- 47:05there were a lot of books around and
- 47:07papers around that you were okay with
- 47:10that, you didn't get upset.
- 47:13Tall order. [laughter] Yeah. Well, I
- 47:17tell you what, I I hear you and I know
- 47:22that I probably come across as a nag
- 47:24sometimes. I'm sure I do.
- 47:27>> Uh
- 47:28>> I would say that. Yeah,
- 47:29>> I bet you would.
- 47:31>> Um but I, you know, I think I can spend
- 47:35some of the time feeling comfortable
- 47:38with everything
- 47:40scattered around.
- 47:42However,
- 47:44I think you probably know me well enough
- 47:46to understand that when my environment
- 47:50[snorts]
- 47:50feels chaotic just to me, it may not be
- 47:54to you, but it is to me.
- 47:57>> Then I get all discombobulated inside. I
- 48:01feel really disorganized.
- 48:04And so all the papers and so on
- 48:07contribute unfortunately to my having
- 48:11that feeling. I wish I wasn't like that,
- 48:13but I am
- 48:15>> cuz I I I think that a house ought to be
- 48:17a little bit messy to be comfortable.
- 48:19>> Yeah, I know you do.
- 48:20>> You know, just [laughter]
- 48:21my mom used to clean clean the place to
- 48:25within an inch of its life, you know.
- 48:27>> I love your mom.
- 48:28>> And she put plastic on all the
- 48:30furniture.
- 48:30>> She was crazy. That's true. I remember.
- 48:33Yeah.
- 48:33>> Yeah. Okay. Well, you don't have to sit
- 48:36on plastic. Okay. [laughter]
- 48:38>> It's okay.
- 48:39>> Yeah.
- 48:39>> Right.
- 48:40>> Beautiful. And I saw you repaired by
- 48:43using I
- 48:44>> That's right.
- 48:45>> I feel
- 48:46>> That's right.
- 48:47>> I feel defensive. So, when you're
- 48:49getting criticized, saying I feel
- 48:51defensive right now
- 48:52>> instead of going defensive.
- 48:54>> Right.
- 48:54>> Right. Or instead of counterattacking.
- 48:57>> Yes. Or stop criticizing me.
- 48:59>> Yeah. Exactly.
- 49:00>> I feel defensive. That's the repair for
- 49:03criticism.
- 49:03>> Yep.
- 49:04>> Got it. Beautiful. Let's move on to
- 49:08contempt.
- 49:09>> Okay. You want to define that one,
- 49:11honey?
- 49:11>> Yeah. Contempt has this air of
- 49:14superiority. You know, I'm better than
- 49:16you.
- 49:17>> Can you show us what contempt looks and
- 49:20sounds like and how it is different than
- 49:25criticism?
- 49:26>> Mhm. Mhm.
- 49:28>> You can't do anything right, can you?
- 49:31What are you talking about? God, I mean,
- 49:34you know, even when you go shopping, you
- 49:36spend too much money. You know, you
- 49:38spend too much money on clothes. So, you
- 49:40know, I you know,
- 49:41>> so what?
- 49:42>> Well, we're we're trying to save for a
- 49:44down payment on a house and you're
- 49:46ruining the whole thing. You just spent
- 49:49it.
- 49:49>> I'm ruining the whole thing.
- 49:51>> Right.
- 49:52>> How dare you? You just went out and
- 49:55bought a Porsche for God's sakes, and
- 49:57I'm
- 49:57>> I need that for my work. I need that.
- 50:00I I wouldn't spend it if I didn't need
- 50:03it for my work
- 50:04>> to take it back. I need to take it back.
- 50:06Okay. So, that's one example. So, it's
- 50:09judgment
- 50:10>> but from a place of superiority.
- 50:14What about the eye rolling
- 50:18>> and the like your example
- 50:20>> like you get another one
- 50:22>> with eye rolling and the cheek? Well, I
- 50:25I I was thinking of an example that uh
- 50:28one of our therapists talked about. He
- 50:31seeing this couple
- 50:32>> and she was being contemptuous and he
- 50:35said, "Do you think you're better than
- 50:37me?"
- 50:39And she said, "Better than I."
- 50:46Boom. Wow. Isn't that a killer? Correct
- 50:49their grammar. That's a great way to be
- 50:52contemptuous.
- 50:55>> Ouch. [snorts]
- 50:56I have a couple in my life that's
- 50:57uncomfortable to be around because as
- 50:59one person's talking, the other one is
- 51:02like rolling their eyes. That's right.
- 51:04>> As they leave the room, they complain
- 51:07about them.
- 51:09And why is contempt the most harmful?
- 51:15And let's start there. It's really it's
- 51:17really a murder attempt
- 51:20>> at the person's sense of self
- 51:23>> and the Jewish Talmud talks about it as
- 51:27murder.
- 51:28>> You know, you're destroying the other
- 51:30person's sense of self and you're saying
- 51:33you are worthless.
- 51:36>> And that's the worst attack. You know,
- 51:40it's not just something you do that I
- 51:42don't like, but I don't like you.
- 51:45>> Right? M
- 51:45>> I call it
- 51:47>> I call it character assassination.
- 51:50>> That's what it is.
- 51:51>> And do people that are contemptuous
- 51:53actually are they able to recognize it?
- 51:57>> Uh not always. Usually the listener is
- 52:01the one who recognizes it. You know, um
- 52:05the other person usually has a pretty
- 52:07heavy sense of entitlement
- 52:09>> that they deserve to say that. But let
- 52:12me also add something about why it's so
- 52:15destructive
- 52:17>> that you know a lot of people don't
- 52:19really think about and acknowledge but
- 52:22none of us got parented perfectly right
- 52:26none of us got taught with absolute
- 52:30appreciation in school. So all of us
- 52:34have at base at least a part of
- 52:37ourselves that's insecure,
- 52:40>> that needs to be loved, that needs to be
- 52:43cared about. And some people like to say
- 52:47that that's immature
- 52:50or, you know, you're just not a
- 52:51grown-up. And I would like to say to
- 52:54them, no, that's wrong. We all have that
- 53:00inside ourselves. We don't lose that
- 53:04core of insecurity
- 53:07and the need to be looked at with care,
- 53:13with love, with understanding,
- 53:16to be spoken to with respect, even
- 53:20admiration.
- 53:21>> None of us lose that. We just add layers
- 53:25on top of it as we grow older. But it's
- 53:28still inside there and it can still get
- 53:32hit if somebody expresses contempt.
- 53:36>> That makes a lot of sense.
- 53:38>> So if you're the one that's getting
- 53:40stepped on and demeaned and interrupted
- 53:44and corrected
- 53:46by your partner, how do you repair this?
- 53:49>> Okay, so here's how I would repair it.
- 53:53Let's say he's just been contemptuous.
- 53:55>> Mhm.
- 53:57So,
- 53:59you know, John, there's no way that I
- 54:03can hear what you're saying right now
- 54:06because I feel so insulted
- 54:10>> by what you're saying. I don't know if
- 54:12that's your intention or not,
- 54:14>> but
- 54:16I feel like shrinking away.
- 54:18>> I want to just disappear. No, I don't
- 54:21want that
- 54:22>> because it it it really I feel really
- 54:26hurt
- 54:27>> by what you're saying.
- 54:29>> So, I wish you would flip what you just
- 54:33said on its head and tell me what you do
- 54:37want
- 54:38>> or you do like rather
- 54:41>> than this wave of negativity I'm
- 54:44getting.
- 54:44>> I feel like I'm judging you
- 54:47>> big time.
- 54:47>> Yeah.
- 54:48>> Yeah. Okay,
- 54:50>> that's what it looks like.
- 54:52>> And when you get somebody that says, "I
- 54:54am judging you." Now you're like
- 54:56realizing, "Okay."
- 54:57>> Okay. Well, that's okay. So, let's say I
- 55:00am, you know,
- 55:01>> I'm just trying to give you feedback,
- 55:04>> honey. The effect of the feedback and
- 55:07the way that you're giving it to me
- 55:10pushes me away.
- 55:12>> It makes me want to run away from you
- 55:14because it hurts so much.
- 55:17Feedback. I can hear if you're telling
- 55:20me what you do want,
- 55:22>> not what you don't.
- 55:23>> Okay.
- 55:24>> Or what you don't like.
- 55:25>> Good point.
- 55:29>> Amazingly helpful. I love that. I I feel
- 55:32insulted. I feel hurt cuz what ends up
- 55:36happening when it's you that is getting
- 55:38stepped on is you tend to flood
- 55:41>> and you don't know what to do.
- 55:42>> That's right.
- 55:43>> Yes.
- 55:43>> That's right.
- 55:44>> Wow.
- 55:44>> Yeah. Respect is is as important as
- 55:47affection.
- 55:48>> Respect is as important as infection.
- 55:51>> Yeah. Especially for women. I think you
- 55:54know today
- 55:56women need to feel that their partner
- 55:59values and respects them and
- 56:03as much as they respect anybody,
- 56:05>> you know. So, one of my New Year's
- 56:08resolutions was, let me try to treat
- 56:12Julie with the kind of respect that I
- 56:15treated my father with.
- 56:18>> And I had to work on that and
- 56:23become self-aware of ways in which I was
- 56:26not communicating respect. For example,
- 56:30it takes her longer to get ready than it
- 56:32does me. So, you know,
- 56:35>> I would get in the car and wait for her.
- 56:38And while I was in the car, I was
- 56:39saying, "What the heck? Why does it take
- 56:42so," you know, by the time she came out
- 56:44to the car, I had worked myself into a
- 56:47frenzy, you know, of anger about this
- 56:50thing? And you know, instead I sat in
- 56:53the car and said, you know, she there's
- 56:55a lot of really important stuff that she
- 56:57sees that I don't see at all and she
- 57:00needs to get those things done before
- 57:03she feels ready to leave the house.
- 57:06>> So, I think I'll just read my novel and
- 57:09whenever she comes out, you know,
- 57:12>> this was an issue in our marriage, too.
- 57:14>> Yeah. [laughter] Chris would be sitting
- 57:16in the pickup in the driveway running
- 57:19and I'm still putting my makeup on and
- 57:21then I'm running around the house
- 57:22looking for my keys cuz I forgot that
- 57:24he's driving [laughter] and when I would
- 57:27then get in the car he would be really
- 57:30frustrated.
- 57:30>> Yeah.
- 57:31>> And I'd get an earful about it and now I
- 57:36try a little harder and he's usually
- 57:39listening to an audio book when I get in
- 57:40the [laughter] pickup truck that's been
- 57:42running for 11 minutes. I've shaved like
- 57:44four minutes off.
- 57:46He is the best ever. [laughter]
- 57:50I love Marshalls. I mean, come on. Don't
- 57:53you love Marshalls? Of course you do. I
- 57:56am so excited that Marshalls is now a
- 57:59sponsor of the Mel Robbins podcast
- 58:01because at Marshalls, you get the good
- 58:04stuff. Brand names and styles that you
- 58:06love for way less. And isn't it so fun
- 58:09to walk into Marshalls and you're like,
- 58:12"Okay, I wonder what's in here, and I
- 58:15bet there's some really good deals." It
- 58:18instantly puts you in a good mood. How
- 58:21do they do it? Well, the buyers at
- 58:24Marshalls, they are hustling behind the
- 58:25scenes 24/7 to bring you really cool
- 58:29things and all the great deals. That
- 58:31means you only have to worry about
- 58:33having fun shopping everything from
- 58:35dresses to denim to shoes. Another
- 58:38reason why I love shopping at Marshalls,
- 58:40I can shop for the whole family. And I'm
- 58:42so impressed by the designers and all
- 58:45the styles they stock. Marshalls, they
- 58:48get the deals, you get the good stuff.
- 58:50Shop now at marshalls.com or find a
- 58:52store near you. The third horsemen uh of
- 58:56the apocalypse of your relationship is
- 58:59defensiveness.
- 59:01What is defensiveness? And why is it so
- 59:04automatic? You know, like it's just like
- 59:07you you just kind of feel like you
- 59:09should defend yourself. What should you
- 59:11do instead?
- 59:13>> You know, that lawyer that I talked
- 59:15about, he was amazing at not getting
- 59:17defensive when his wife was criticizing
- 59:19him. And he he really was saying, "She's
- 59:22got an important point. I just don't
- 59:24know what it is. I have to help
- 59:25[laughter] her. I have to help her get
- 59:27to it, you know. Uh, but I'm sure she's
- 59:30she's got something she really wants to
- 59:32tell me that's important. And he had
- 59:34that attitude. Very respectful, you
- 59:37know, and
- 59:39I think that's the attitude you got to
- 59:41take. Instead of saying I'm innocent,
- 59:44you know, I have I have no
- 59:45responsibility in this. I'm I'm pretty
- 59:48much perfect. If there's anybody
- 59:50defective, it's you. That's a really bad
- 59:52attitude [laughter]
- 59:54because you're not going to listen if
- 59:55you have that attitude. I would love to
- 59:57hear you guys role play and if you could
- 1:00:00do an example where one of you wishes
- 1:00:04the other one would either lose weight
- 1:00:07or take a little better care of
- 1:00:08themselves or you know get a trainer or
- 1:00:12actually pick up the weights that we
- 1:00:14bought last year and use them. You know
- 1:00:17what I'm saying? And then you know and
- 1:00:18then the other ones that because I think
- 1:00:19this is something that is
- 1:00:21>> Oh boy.
- 1:00:22>> Yes.
- 1:00:22>> That's a hot issue.
- 1:00:23>> Yeah. It's a hot issue.
- 1:00:24>> Yeah. Okay.
- 1:00:26>> So, let's say let's say you criticize
- 1:00:28me, you know. Yeah.
- 1:00:30>> For, you know, having a tummy in, but
- 1:00:32you're really worried about my health.
- 1:00:34It's really,
- 1:00:35>> right? Yeah.
- 1:00:36>> Okay. Uh, let's see, [clears throat]
- 1:00:41>> John.
- 1:00:43Uh, I need to talk to you about
- 1:00:44something. You know, I know that you
- 1:00:48love sitting and reading your books,
- 1:00:52especially your mathematic books, which
- 1:00:54I can not understand one page of.
- 1:00:58>> Yeah.
- 1:00:58>> But honey, I'm you know, you really,
- 1:01:02really, really should go to the gym more
- 1:01:04often. You really should. You're only
- 1:01:06going to the gym like once a month.
- 1:01:09That's not going to do anything for your
- 1:01:11body. That's I mean, you know, your
- 1:01:14body's starting to get a little kind of
- 1:01:18flabby or something. I mean, just that
- 1:01:22belly is
- 1:01:24going out further and further.
- 1:01:27>> Well,
- 1:01:30I think I'm fine.
- 1:01:32>> You think you're fine?
- 1:01:34>> Yeah. Honey, the thing that I'm worried
- 1:01:37about, and this is true for both of us,
- 1:01:40is that we're both getting older, right?
- 1:01:44And you know, you've read all the
- 1:01:46newspaper articles about being fit
- 1:01:50really adds years to your life, being
- 1:01:54healthy, exercising is one of the best
- 1:01:56things you can do.
- 1:01:58I just read this article about a guy
- 1:02:00who's a long-distance runner and he had
- 1:02:02a heart attack while he was running and
- 1:02:04he was 40 years old.
- 1:02:06>> So, I don't think I don't think exercise
- 1:02:08is such a great thing.
- 1:02:09>> But honey,
- 1:02:09>> a lot of these athletes are pretty
- 1:02:11stupid.
- 1:02:12>> Well,
- 1:02:13what they found is that there was a
- 1:02:15heart defect there. It wasn't the
- 1:02:19running that caused it. It was the heart
- 1:02:21defect.
- 1:02:22>> But
- 1:02:23>> you don't think he overdid it?
- 1:02:24>> No, I don't think so. But if you don't
- 1:02:28exercise, I'm really afraid that you may
- 1:02:32suffer a heart attack,
- 1:02:34right?
- 1:02:35>> Yeah.
- 1:02:36>> I mean, I don't want to lose you. I do
- 1:02:40not want to lose you.
- 1:02:42>> And so, I'm wondering, how can I support
- 1:02:47you going to the gym more often? Or does
- 1:02:50that feel too controlling?
- 1:02:53No, I think what if we went together?
- 1:02:56>> Love it. Would you be [clears throat]
- 1:02:58willing to make the time?
- 1:03:00>> Yeah, if I can swim.
- 1:03:02>> Sure.
- 1:03:02>> I like to swim.
- 1:03:03>> Swimming is great.
- 1:03:05>> Yeah,
- 1:03:05>> swimming is wonderful.
- 1:03:06>> I haven't been in a long time.
- 1:03:07>> You haven't?
- 1:03:08>> Yeah.
- 1:03:08>> You want to do it again?
- 1:03:10>> Yeah.
- 1:03:11>> Well, yay.
- 1:03:12>> All right.
- 1:03:13>> That would be terrific.
- 1:03:14>> Okay.
- 1:03:15>> I'll work on it.
- 1:03:15>> Okay.
- 1:03:16>> Yeah.
- 1:03:19How do you tell someone that it's not
- 1:03:22that you're worried about them, it's
- 1:03:23that you're losing interest in them?
- 1:03:25>> Oh, okay. That's a good one.
- 1:03:28>> Cuz I think the exercise thing is a big
- 1:03:32one.
- 1:03:32>> Yeah. And you know, like really taking
- 1:03:36care of yourself. And yes, there's the
- 1:03:38I'm afraid something that's going to
- 1:03:40happen, but it's also like I actually am
- 1:03:43pulling away from you because I'm not
- 1:03:46proud to be with you or I am losing my
- 1:03:49attraction to you.
- 1:03:50>> Okay.
- 1:03:53I have something I want to talk to you
- 1:03:55about that is super sensitive.
- 1:03:59>> Uh-oh.
- 1:04:00>> I know.
- 1:04:00>> Let me get my notebook. You better get
- 1:04:02your notebook.
- 1:04:03>> And let me preface it. Let me preface it
- 1:04:06by saying I adore you. I love you so so
- 1:04:11so much.
- 1:04:13>> That's nice to hear.
- 1:04:14>> Yeah.
- 1:04:16>> But
- 1:04:17>> Oh, it is a butt.
- 1:04:18>> Yep. Here comes the sensitive part.
- 1:04:22I don't know exactly what's happening,
- 1:04:25but as you've been gaining weight,
- 1:04:30>> becoming more of a sphere
- 1:04:34instead of a triangle. [snorts]
- 1:04:39I don't know. My libido is going down.
- 1:04:43My sexual interest
- 1:04:47is declining.
- 1:04:48>> Oh, that sucks.
- 1:04:50Well, it does because I love you and I
- 1:04:54really really want to express that
- 1:04:56physically to you,
- 1:04:59but at the same time, I really, really
- 1:05:02loved it when you were working out. And
- 1:05:07I could feel the muscles in your back,
- 1:05:10in your shoulders, your arms. It It felt
- 1:05:14really wonderful.
- 1:05:15>> So, I wrote down lose weight and get
- 1:05:18more sex.
- 1:05:20That's a possibility.
- 1:05:21>> All right. Okay.
- 1:05:22>> What do you think? Would you like that?
- 1:05:25Would you like to get more sex? Because
- 1:05:28>> if about 20 lbs melted away,
- 1:05:34>> I bet you my sexual interest.
- 1:05:40>> Great idea.
- 1:05:41>> Yeah.
- 1:05:42>> Okay.
- 1:05:43Tada.
- 1:05:46>> [laughter]
- 1:05:46>> I'm sorry I'm laughing, but I You two
- 1:05:49are adorable and
- 1:05:51and we have all been in a relationship
- 1:05:54like that. The fourth horseman that's
- 1:05:56going to destroy your relationship
- 1:05:58potentially is stonewalling, right?
- 1:06:00>> We've talked a little bit about it, but
- 1:06:02just so we're clear about what it is.
- 1:06:04Okay.
- 1:06:06Well, you know, we actually didn't
- 1:06:08understand it when we first saw it. And
- 1:06:11we brought men back in and said, "What
- 1:06:14was going through your mind right
- 1:06:16there?"
- 1:06:18And so we got this sort of internal
- 1:06:22monologue that guys were going through
- 1:06:25and they really were saying, "This is
- 1:06:28hopeless. I just gota I got to endure
- 1:06:31this. I got to get through this." and
- 1:06:35you know,
- 1:06:37don't say anything because whatever you
- 1:06:39say, you're going to make it worse and
- 1:06:42you know, I'm just going to go get a get
- 1:06:45a beer and watch the game, you know, and
- 1:06:48not think about this. Let me out of
- 1:06:50here. That's what they were thinking,
- 1:06:53you know, and it was sad, you know, is
- 1:06:56really like I'm overwhelmed, you know,
- 1:06:59I'm in a war zone,
- 1:07:01>> you know, and there there aren't any
- 1:07:03shelters,
- 1:07:05>> you know.
- 1:07:07>> Can you give us a example of what this
- 1:07:09sort of sounds like in a relationship?
- 1:07:13>> Uh,
- 1:07:13>> when one when you know the man go or
- 1:07:16typically the guy, but often it can be
- 1:07:19the the the woman
- 1:07:20>> can be. Yeah. Yeah. 15% of the time it
- 1:07:23was a woman stonewalling,
- 1:07:25>> right? Well, let's let's do you
- 1:07:28stonewalling.
- 1:07:29>> Okay.
- 1:07:29>> Okay. Uh so I don't understand why you
- 1:07:34haven't paid the bills. I mean, the
- 1:07:37bills have got to be paid. Why aren't
- 1:07:39you paying the bills, man? They're
- 1:07:41sitting there on the table.
- 1:07:43>> This is not a big deal. I just
- 1:07:46>> I don't want to talk about this,
- 1:07:47>> John. It's a huge deal. You're going to
- 1:07:50ruin our credit if you don't pay the
- 1:07:53bills. Would you please pay the bills?
- 1:07:57So, what are you doing now? You're
- 1:07:59pretending I don't exist. You're just
- 1:08:02blocking me out.
- 1:08:05Honey, pay the frigin bills. What's the
- 1:08:08big deal?
- 1:08:13[sighs]
- 1:08:14God
- 1:08:16there. that
- 1:08:19>> that's what it looked like
- 1:08:21>> cuz we've all seen it and experienced
- 1:08:23it. And if you were listening and not
- 1:08:25watching this episode as Julie was, you
- 1:08:29know, basically telling him what to do
- 1:08:32and criticizing him and then the huff at
- 1:08:34the end is contempt that [snorts]
- 1:08:36>> Yes.
- 1:08:37>> Right. Right. that exclamation point of
- 1:08:41uh you John crossed your arms and looked
- 1:08:44down and looked away and it is this act
- 1:08:48of like there's nothing to do. I just
- 1:08:50need to endure this until she shuts up.
- 1:08:52>> Right.
- 1:08:53>> And that's the only option here.
- 1:08:55>> Yeah. And and also
- 1:08:59if I say anything it'll get worse.
- 1:09:02>> Yes.
- 1:09:02>> It's bad now but if I say anything it
- 1:09:04I'll make it worse. How the heck do you
- 1:09:06repair something like that if you're the
- 1:09:09stonewaller
- 1:09:10and you've got somebody who's critical
- 1:09:12of you?
- 1:09:13>> Okay, like can the stonewaller like can
- 1:09:16you teach a stonewaller to repair? Cuz a
- 1:09:18stonewaller does not trust that it's
- 1:09:21going to get better if I say anything.
- 1:09:22>> Okay, don't forget
- 1:09:24>> Yes.
- 1:09:25>> that what goes along with stonewalling
- 1:09:27is a heart rate over a 100 beats a
- 1:09:30minute.
- 1:09:31>> Oh, true. It looks like you're calm.
- 1:09:34>> Yeah. Yes, it does. But because John and
- 1:09:38Bob had g their couples hooked up to
- 1:09:42physiology that that measured heart
- 1:09:46rate,
- 1:09:48we saw those heart rates like through
- 1:09:50the ceiling 140, 150 and so
- 1:09:53>> 10 seconds before they started
- 1:09:55stonewalling. I never ever ever looked
- 1:09:58at stonewalling
- 1:10:00as somebody who's panicked and
- 1:10:03overwhelmed.
- 1:10:05>> I've always seen this as a power play.
- 1:10:08>> Yes.
- 1:10:08>> That you're denying me attention and you
- 1:10:14are trying to just block me out as a way
- 1:10:17to control me.
- 1:10:18>> Exactly.
- 1:10:20And that is wrong.
- 1:10:22>> Stonewalling is an attempt to self soo.
- 1:10:25>> Right. going inside. Okay.
- 1:10:28She can't touch me when I watch the
- 1:10:30game. So, the game starts in 10 minutes.
- 1:10:33I'm going to go watch the game.
- 1:10:35>> I'll have a beer. I'll calm down.
- 1:10:37>> Yeah. So, let me tell you
- 1:10:39>> now. Well,
- 1:10:41>> yeah. Let me tell you what the antidote
- 1:10:44is. It's not saying something. Exactly.
- 1:10:47[gasps]
- 1:10:48>> The only antidote is to do something to
- 1:10:52calm your physiology down.
- 1:10:55Okay, so we've seen the antidote. It is
- 1:11:01you tell your partner you need to take a
- 1:11:03break, that you're flooded, you need to
- 1:11:07take a break, and you tell your partner
- 1:11:11when you will come back to continue the
- 1:11:15conversation. And typically, the minimum
- 1:11:19a break takes is 20 to 30 minutes. the
- 1:11:23most would be 24 hours. Okay.
- 1:11:26>> What do you do during the break? You do
- 1:11:29not think about the fight because if you
- 1:11:33keep thinking about the fight and oh, I
- 1:11:35should say this when I go back,
- 1:11:37>> you'll stay flooded
- 1:11:39>> because you're still hooked into the
- 1:11:42fight that is elevating your heart rate.
- 1:11:46You need to do something else like
- 1:11:48reading a book, reading a magazine,
- 1:11:51watching TV, playing with the puppy,
- 1:11:54even going for a run is fine. Uh taking
- 1:11:58a walk, doing your email,
- 1:12:01something that takes your mind off the
- 1:12:04fight,
- 1:12:05>> okay?
- 1:12:06>> So that
- 1:12:08those stress hormones can metabolize out
- 1:12:11of your body. You see? So when you feel
- 1:12:14it's especially hard for guys,
- 1:12:16>> I would imagine
- 1:12:17>> because uh you know Bob Levenson did a
- 1:12:19study of startle. You know you have a
- 1:12:22gun a blank gun go off behind somebody.
- 1:12:27>> Women
- 1:12:29feel fear. Men feel a desire to get even
- 1:12:36>> get angry.
- 1:12:37>> Get angry. Get even with the experiment.
- 1:12:40They feel, you know, an rage about
- 1:12:43having been startled. And so that
- 1:12:46maintains the physiological arousal. And
- 1:12:49it was probably adaptive in our, you
- 1:12:52know, ancestors time to stay
- 1:12:56physiologically aroused when you're
- 1:12:58hunting or protecting the tribe. But
- 1:13:00during a conversation with your lover,
- 1:13:04it it's not helpful to stay
- 1:13:06physiologically aroused. It's
- 1:13:08counterproductive. can't listen, right?
- 1:13:10So you So it's a challenge for men
- 1:13:13during the break to really distract
- 1:13:15themselves and do something entirely
- 1:13:18different.
- 1:13:18>> But the big breakthrough is to utter the
- 1:13:23words, I am emotionally
- 1:13:26shut down or I'm emotionally flooded or
- 1:13:28I'm flooded right now.
- 1:13:29>> I'm flooded. I'm flooded.
- 1:13:31>> I'm flooded.
- 1:13:32>> I need to take a break.
- 1:13:35>> [snorts]
- 1:13:35>> And you know the good thing about saying
- 1:13:39I'll be back in 30 minutes is that a lot
- 1:13:43of people when you say I'm going to go
- 1:13:45take a break and they go
- 1:13:48the other person feels rejected
- 1:13:51thinks oh great we're never going to get
- 1:13:54back to this topic we're never going to
- 1:13:56solve this we're never going to talk
- 1:13:58about it right
- 1:13:59>> so saying
- 1:14:01let's come back in a half an hour when
- 1:14:03I'm calmer and let's try again
- 1:14:07makes a huge difference.
- 1:14:09>> It makes a lot of sense. Why is Can we
- 1:14:12just move on? Why is that one of the
- 1:14:14biggest mistakes that you can make after
- 1:14:17a blowup?
- 1:14:19>> Flooding, you mean?
- 1:14:20>> Oh, can we
- 1:14:20>> just saying that? Can we just move on?
- 1:14:22>> Oh,
- 1:14:23>> let's not talk about this.
- 1:14:24>> Let's not talk about this.
- 1:14:25>> Oh god, that's so terrible. Well, the
- 1:14:27problem in the relationship when you
- 1:14:30say, "Let's just not talk about this
- 1:14:32anymore."
- 1:14:34It's another way of saying
- 1:14:38whatever you're thinking isn't
- 1:14:40important, so let's just drop it. You're
- 1:14:43not important.
- 1:14:45>> What a message, right? It's a terrible
- 1:14:48message.
- 1:14:50>> So, tell you, don't do it.
- 1:14:53>> Yes. I I that is you're absolutely
- 1:14:57right.
- 1:14:57>> And then there's a loss of trust,
- 1:14:59>> right?
- 1:15:00>> Which is really damaging to the
- 1:15:02relationship,
- 1:15:03>> right?
- 1:15:03>> I can't trust you to really keep your
- 1:15:06promises
- 1:15:07>> or be there for me.
- 1:15:09>> Or be there for me.
- 1:15:10>> Yeah.
- 1:15:10>> Yeah.
- 1:15:11>> Let's talk about turning toward each
- 1:15:13other. So important. So important. So
- 1:15:17that's something that that one of my
- 1:15:19graduate students, Janice Driver, really
- 1:15:21noticed in the apartment lab. There'd be
- 1:15:24these small moments when one person
- 1:15:27would try to get their partner's
- 1:15:28attention or interest or a conversation
- 1:15:30or show them something they were reading
- 1:15:33and the cameras turned to the other
- 1:15:35person and we recorded the response and
- 1:15:39they either responded, you know, or, you
- 1:15:42know, turned toward we called it or they
- 1:15:45didn't respond at all turning away or
- 1:15:47they responded irritably turning
- 1:15:49against. And what Janney discovered was
- 1:15:53that when you look back at the couples
- 1:15:55who divorced 6 years earlier, their
- 1:15:59average percent of turning toward their
- 1:16:01partners' bids for connection was 33%.
- 1:16:06And the couples who are still married
- 1:16:08look six years earlier, their average is
- 1:16:1186%.
- 1:16:12>> Wow.
- 1:16:13>> Rather than 33%. So these small moments
- 1:16:16are really important. Plus, she also
- 1:16:18discovered the secret to having a sense
- 1:16:21of humor during conflict was having a
- 1:16:24lot of history of turning toward
- 1:16:27>> building an emotional bank account of
- 1:16:29connecting,
- 1:16:30>> right?
- 1:16:31>> Then people had a sense of humor about
- 1:16:32themselves during conflict.
- 1:16:34>> I want to make sure that as you were
- 1:16:36listening to John say that that you got
- 1:16:39the very helpful distinction of the
- 1:16:42three things that people do in those
- 1:16:44micro moments. And obviously what we
- 1:16:47want to learn to do, right,
- 1:16:48>> is turn toward one another.
- 1:16:50>> Right.
- 1:16:51>> But the thing that a lot of people do is
- 1:16:53you either turn away
- 1:16:55>> or you turn against.
- 1:16:57>> Right.
- 1:16:58>> Right.
- 1:16:58>> And I think it's a very useful tool to
- 1:17:00ask yourself, am I turning against them
- 1:17:03when they're trying to hold my hand or
- 1:17:05engage in a conversation or tell about
- 1:17:08their day? Am I turning away from them?
- 1:17:11So what turning away means, a lot of
- 1:17:14people misinterpret that. They think it
- 1:17:16means, oh, you turn your body away. No,
- 1:17:19it doesn't at all. It means you
- 1:17:23completely ignore what they've said. Oh,
- 1:17:26>> you ignore it.
- 1:17:27>> So, [snorts] let's say I'm reading a
- 1:17:29book and John calls to me from the
- 1:17:32kitchen, Julie.
- 1:17:35I ignore him. I keep reading the book.
- 1:17:39He says again, "Honey, do you know where
- 1:17:42the big fork is?"
- 1:17:46I ignore him
- 1:17:48as if he never said anything. That's
- 1:17:51turning away.
- 1:17:52>> Turning against
- 1:17:55would be, "Would you stop interrupting
- 1:17:58me? I'm trying to read."
- 1:18:01>> That's the hostility you see that comes
- 1:18:04in turning against.
- 1:18:07>> Wow. They're really small moments, but
- 1:18:10the probability that a person will rebid
- 1:18:15>> after their partner's turned away is
- 1:18:1822%.
- 1:18:19>> Wow.
- 1:18:20>> So only 22% of the time do they say,
- 1:18:23"Honey, where's the fork?" Or, you know,
- 1:18:26listen to this. They they kind of
- 1:18:29crumple a little bit when their partner
- 1:18:31turns away.
- 1:18:32>> Well, of course.
- 1:18:33>> Yeah.
- 1:18:33>> You know what it reminds me of? You know
- 1:18:36what a sea anemone looks like? You know,
- 1:18:39it's this little circle of a of a being
- 1:18:44in the water in the ocean that has
- 1:18:46little tiny fingers and when it's
- 1:18:49relaxed, all those fingers are spread
- 1:18:52out towards the center of this little
- 1:18:54circle.
- 1:18:54>> Yeah. Like if you saw the movie Finding
- 1:18:56Nemo, all the baby nose are in one. Yes.
- 1:18:59>> Yeah. Exactly. Okay. So if you poke that
- 1:19:04sea anemone
- 1:19:06gently all those fingers pull back
- 1:19:10>> and then very slowly it'll start
- 1:19:13stretching stretching stretching
- 1:19:16stretching again
- 1:19:19let's say you poke again that c anemone
- 1:19:22is not going to stretch out its fingers
- 1:19:25it's going to hide
- 1:19:27>> that's what happens
- 1:19:28>> good image
- 1:19:29>> that makes a ton of sense And I would
- 1:19:31just love to have you speak directly to
- 1:19:34the person who's been with us this whole
- 1:19:36time because there's a lot that you have
- 1:19:38shared. There are so many tools and
- 1:19:40frameworks, things that you can put to
- 1:19:42use right now and also things that you
- 1:19:45can really reflect on in yourself cuz
- 1:19:48you can't change them.
- 1:19:51>> You can use these tools to connect more
- 1:19:53deeply and to strengthen your
- 1:19:56relationship, but ultimately you can't
- 1:19:58change them. But a lot of what has
- 1:20:02happened for me with your work is it's
- 1:20:04made me understand the things that I'm
- 1:20:08doing that I need to change that can
- 1:20:11strengthen the relationship
- 1:20:14>> and the things that I can proactively do
- 1:20:17differently that build better
- 1:20:19connection. And so I'd love to have you
- 1:20:21just speak to the person directly. And
- 1:20:24if they take everything to heart, but
- 1:20:28they want to do one thing
- 1:20:31right after they finish listening,
- 1:20:34what's the most important action to take
- 1:20:36today?
- 1:20:37>> Well, I would say that [clears throat]
- 1:20:41when you realize conflict has a goal,
- 1:20:44which is mutual understanding.
- 1:20:46And what you need to do is postpone
- 1:20:49persuasion and problem solving until you
- 1:20:53can really hear what your partner is
- 1:20:56saying, what your partner feels, what
- 1:20:59your partner needs, what your partner's
- 1:21:01hopes are, and get that notebook out
- 1:21:05slowly. Open it up. Slowly get your pen
- 1:21:09out and take notes and listen. Because
- 1:21:14when you do that, you realize your
- 1:21:16partner is not your adversary. Your
- 1:21:18partner is your ally at solving a
- 1:21:21problem together. You you can be a team
- 1:21:24that together is more powerful than
- 1:21:27either person individually and you solve
- 1:21:30that problem together. So buy a little
- 1:21:32notebook and a pen and take notes.
- 1:21:36Slowly get out your pen so you can wait
- 1:21:39at least two beats before you respond.
- 1:21:43Well, I cannot wait to listen to this
- 1:21:45again with my husband Chris. Maybe it's
- 1:21:48what we'll do on our to celebrate our
- 1:21:4930th wedding anniversary. And I now know
- 1:21:52what I'm going to get him.
- 1:21:53>> I'm going to get him a little notebook.
- 1:21:55Right. [laughter]
- 1:21:56>> Right. That's a great idea.
- 1:21:58>> And you know what?
- 1:21:59>> And a pen. And a pen. And one of the
- 1:22:02other things that I really loved about
- 1:22:04being with you two is that you reminded
- 1:22:07me of one of my favorite pieces of
- 1:22:11advice and truths about relationships
- 1:22:14that really go the distance and are
- 1:22:16satisfying for both people. And I first
- 1:22:20heard this from James Ston, but it's
- 1:22:22just this idea that you're my favorite
- 1:22:24person.
- 1:22:25>> Mhm.
- 1:22:25>> And being [clears throat] in the
- 1:22:26presence of the two of you and
- 1:22:29experiencing
- 1:22:31in person your warmth towards each
- 1:22:34other, your fondness towards each other,
- 1:22:38your kindness towards one another, the
- 1:22:41fun that you have as you are sitting
- 1:22:46together.
- 1:22:48It is the little things that are
- 1:22:50available and right in front of us. And
- 1:22:53I am so excited to get home to Chris
- 1:22:56tonight in southern Vermont because I
- 1:22:59feel rejuvenated in terms of just that
- 1:23:02that what that energy between you two,
- 1:23:05the warmth.
- 1:23:06>> You know, Helen Fischer uh taught us
- 1:23:09that being in love has no shelf life.
- 1:23:13You can be in love for 35 years, 40
- 1:23:16years, 50 years, and we are, you know,
- 1:23:19and uh I feel enormous joy in the
- 1:23:23morning when Julie's in my arms.
- 1:23:27>> Every morning,
- 1:23:28>> you are going to make me cry. The
- 1:23:30Gottmans, [laughter] everybody, thank
- 1:23:32you. Thank you. Thank you.
- 1:23:34>> Thank you, Mel.
- 1:23:36>> I just love you, too.
- 1:23:38>> Thank you.
- 1:23:38>> Thank you.
- 1:23:40>> And thank you. You know, I told you at
- 1:23:42the beginning of this episode you would
- 1:23:44fall in love with the Gottman's. And
- 1:23:45didn't you? I mean, how could you not? I
- 1:23:48am so excited for everything that's
- 1:23:49going to happen in your relationships
- 1:23:51and in your life based on what you just
- 1:23:53learned. Because the truth is, you
- 1:23:55deserve love. You deserve connection.
- 1:23:59You deserve respect and kindness. And
- 1:24:01now you have researchbacked tools from
- 1:24:04the worldrenowned Gottmans to use and to
- 1:24:07share for the rest of your life. How
- 1:24:10cool is that? And in case no one else
- 1:24:12tells you today, as your friend, I
- 1:24:14wanted to be sure to tell you that I
- 1:24:16love you and I believe in you and I
- 1:24:18believe in your ability to create a
- 1:24:19better life. And the thing that's going
- 1:24:21to make your life better is stronger and
- 1:24:23more loving relationships. And now you
- 1:24:26have everything you need to know, do,
- 1:24:28and say to create them. So go do it. All
- 1:24:31righty. I'll see you in the very next
- 1:24:33episode. I'll welcome you in the moment
- 1:24:35you hit play. All righty. Thank you for
- 1:24:37watching all the way to the end here on
- 1:24:39YouTube. The next video that you want to
- 1:24:42check out, you're going to love this one
- 1:24:43too, is this one.
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