Okay, so technically this isn’t specifically bad marriage advice. But if your source is not reliable, then the advice should be taken with a grain (or pile) of salt.
Here is some advice that showed up in my In-box last week:
“The next time you find yourself in the middle of an absurd agreement with your partner.
You know that moment where you realize it’s pointless?
Here’s what you do:
Paste a wild smile on your face and begin agreeing.
“You’re right. I was very wrong for that”
The key is that you have to commit to saying it with a maniacal grin.
Then double down on agreeing – without losing the wild smile.”
And you know who provided this advice? A marketer!!!!!
I agree that you should find another path when you recognize you are in a pointless argument with your partner. However, this suggestion can put you in more hot water than the original argument.
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Using humor to reset things is great. But that isn’t what this suggests. This approach can easily be interpreted as condescending and/or dismissive.
If the argument hasn’t gone too far, your partner may accept your “maniacal grin” as a repair attempt. But if she doesn’t see your interaction as “pointless”, she might very well feel that you aren’t taking it, or her, seriously.
AND, if you “admit” being wrong but don’t really mean it, you can do damage to your relationship. Because being disingenuous is disrespectful.
A marketer would not know this.
Marketing is not my field. (That’s a massive understatement.) I certainly don’t feel qualified to give any kind of advice about it.
Maybe this approach works in his relationship. But before trying it in yours, I recommend checking with your partner. If it’s a “no” from them, I would not use it.
So, who do you get your relationship advice from? And do you know that they know what they are talking about? Do you know how successful (or not) their relationships are?
If you want to know what really works, I invite you to have a conversation with me. Let’s talk.
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