Give Way or Have it Your Way?

What does Give Way mean in a relationship context?

I’m thinking this morning of active yielding vs. passive yielding. Passive giving way may be a path of not dealing with an issue. Active giving way can be a healthy choice for a marriage. Some of the time.

Taking turns as to who gives way, when, and how those decisions are made, are what is important. Knowing what we can and cannot give way on.

Being passive can be infuriating for your partner as it can lack interaction, and requires one to try to get the other to share. On the other hand, being passive can be a response to an often angry spouse to avoid conflict or confrontation. So please think about whether either of these situations feels true for your relationship.

Then there’s passive-aggressive, which is the opposite of facing things directly, with integrity. The Oxford Dictionary defines passive-aggressive as of or denoting a type of behavior or personality characterized by indirect resistance to the demands of others and an avoidance of direct confrontation, as in procrastinating, pouting, or misplacing important materials.

Some people want things to be their way. This may include decision-making, being right, and so on.

How do you actively give way? Passively give way? Passive-aggressively give way? Want it your way? What works, and what doesn’t work about each of those methods?

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