You are never ___________. Fill in the blank. How does that feel? It depends on how you filled in the blank, doesn’t it? If you filled it in with “on time”, then the statement sounds like an attack. You are always ___________. Fill in the blank. How does that one sound? It also depends on how you filled in the blank. If the filled in word is ‘late’, you want to start citing the times you weren’t late. When we are referring to someone’s negative behavior, avoid the always and

Do you have a Hot Button? Maybe you have a few of them? Hot Buttons are those annoyances that trigger or rather, over-trigger your response. Let’s take a word or phrase that just irks you. We all have them. Some of mine are: “Calm down,” “Stop being so emotional,” “No.” What’s yours? Think about it right now for 10 seconds. Do you feel the tension building? That response needs your attention. When you hear the phrase that bothers you, your response is based on all the prior t