--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Extreme independence is as destructive to…" description: "\"Extreme independence is as destructive to a relationship as total dependence.\" — James Dobson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f3/james-dobson-4773_dependence_extreme-independence-is-as-destructive-t_1563577.png" --- # Extreme independence is as destructive to a relationship… ![“Extreme independence is as destructive to a relationship as total dependence.” quote by James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f3/james-dobson-4773_dependence_extreme-independence-is-as-destructive-t_1563577.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f3/james-dobson-4773_dependence_extreme-independence-is-as-destructive-t_1563577.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f3/james-dobson-4773_dependence_extreme-independence-is-as-destructive-t_1563577.png) > “Extreme independence is as destructive to a relationship as total dependence.” [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A warning that both extreme self-reliance and total dependence can harm relationships, advocating balance. **In simple terms:** Both extremes damage relationships. Key Takeaway Seek balanced interdependence. Themes relationships balance independence Mood thoughtful cautious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - marriage - friendship - family dynamics Key Concepts psychology relationship health Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain healthy dependence? - What signs indicate imbalance? A Different Perspective Finding balance can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dependence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dependence/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence/) ## Related quotes > [We must not simply desire God; we must live in total dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillon-burroughs/we-must-not-simply-desire-god-we-must-live-in-total-dependence/) [Dillon Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillon-burroughs/) > [“Our independence shall be our total dependence on the Divine Being, God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/our-independence-shall-be-our-total-dependence-on-the-divine-being-god/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Parenting” an ADHD spouse is always destructive to your relationship because it demotivates and generates frustration and anger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-orlov/parenting-an-adhd-spouse-is-always-destructive-to-your-relationship/) [Melissa Orlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-orlov/) > [So many people break up after the loss of a child; it can be very destructive to a relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/so-many-people-break-up-after-the-loss-of-a-child-it-can-be-very/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [“The dysfunctional family relationships are disastrous. Poisonous. There can't be reconciliation. We cannot restore a destructive relationship with abusive siblings when they won't repent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-arcuri-ctrc/the-dysfunctional-family-relationships-are-disastrous-poisonous-there/) [Dana Arcuri CTRC](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-arcuri-ctrc/) > [True humility means total dependence on God for everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-b-joshua/true-humility-means-total-dependence-on-god-for-everything/) [T. B. Joshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-b-joshua/) > [All charming people have something to conceal, usually their total dependence on the appreciation of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/all-charming-people-have-something-to-conceal-usually-their-total/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [The lessons of history, confirmed by the evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual disintegration fundamentally destructive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/the-lessons-of-history-confirmed-by-the-evidence-immediately-before/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Prayer and dependence on God has been our history. How unfortunate it is now that an unaccountable and unelected and misguided judge from Wisconsin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/prayer-and-dependence-on-god-has-been-our-history-how-unfortunate-it/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [The strongest reason for giving woman all the opportunities of higher education, for the full development of her faculties, forces of mind and body;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/the-strongest-reason-for-giving-woman-all-the-opportunities-of-higher/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [Never depend on anyone else's strength but God's strength to help you through and nor expect from anyone except God to be with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/never-depend-on-anyone-else-s-strength-but-god-s-strength-to-help-you/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Love is . . . Knowing that the other person will always be with you regardless of what happens, Missing the other person when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/love-is-knowing-that-the-other-person-will-always-be-with-you/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [God's power under us, in us, surging through us, is exactly what turns dependence into unforgettable experiences of completeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-wilkinson/god-s-power-under-us-in-us-surging-through-us-is-exactly-what-turns/) [Bruce Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-wilkinson/) > [On Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/on-thanksgiving-day-we-acknowledge-our-dependence/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) ## More by James Dobson > [Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and halfway closed there after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/keep-your-eyes-wide-open-before-marriage-and-halfway-closed-there/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [Respect is intended to operate on a two-way street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/respect-is-intended-to-operate-on-a-two-way-street/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [Conceit is a weird disease - it makes everybody sick except the guy who has it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/conceit-is-a-weird-disease-it-makes-everybody-sick-except-the-guy-who/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [Since 1775, when the first Continental Congress called for a national day of prayer, there have been such events called for by almost every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/since-1775-when-the-first-continental-congress-called-for-a-national/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [I would not vote for John McCain under any circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/i-would-not-vote-for-john-mccain-under-any-circumstances/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [A good marriage is not one where perfection reigns: it is a relationship where a healthy perspective overlooks a multitude of "unresolvables."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/a-good-marriage-is-not-one-where-perfection-reigns-it-is-a/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [Homosexuals are not monogamous. They want to destroy the institution of marriage. It will destroy marriage. It will destroy the Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/homosexuals-are-not-monogamous-they-want-to-destroy-the-institution/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [It will always hurt to be laughed at, snubbed, ignored or attacked by others. But I would remind you that the human personality grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/it-will-always-hurt-to-be-laughed-at-snubbed-ignored-or-attacked-by/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [The Lord doesn't always remove the sources of stress in our lives...but He's always there and cares for us. We can feel His arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/the-lord-doesn-t-always-remove-the-sources-of-stress-in-our-lives-but/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [There is only one cure for the cancer of bitterness, that is to forgive the perceived offender. Once and for all, with God's help,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/there-is-only-one-cure-for-the-cancer-of-bitterness-that-is-to/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [Marriage succeeds only as lifetime commitment with no escape clauses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/marriage-succeeds-only-as-lifetime-commitment-with-no-escape-clauses/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [You have to work to keep love alive; you have to protect it and maintain it, just like you would a delicate flower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/you-have-to-work-to-keep-love-alive-you-have-to-protect-it-and/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [To those who say Ted Bundy should burn forever in eternity I would only say, so should I, so should all of us...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/to-those-who-say-ted-bundy-should-burn-forever-in-eternity-i-would/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [Although individual temperaments vary, boys are designed to be more assertive, audacious, and excitable than girls are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/although-individual-temperaments-vary-boys-are-designed-to-be-more/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [The institution of the family has very few friends in Washington. There are lobbyists in Washington for every possible entity, from the possum-growers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/the-institution-of-the-family-has-very-few-friends-in-washington/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) [Explore all 106 James Dobson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) ## More Dependence quotes > [On Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/on-thanksgiving-day-we-acknowledge-our-dependence/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [God's power under us, in us, surging through us, is exactly what turns dependence into unforgettable experiences of completeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-wilkinson/god-s-power-under-us-in-us-surging-through-us-is-exactly-what-turns/) [Bruce Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-wilkinson/) > [Love is . . . Knowing that the other person will always be with you regardless of what happens, Missing the other person when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/love-is-knowing-that-the-other-person-will-always-be-with-you/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Never depend on anyone else's strength but God's strength to help you through and nor expect from anyone except God to be with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/never-depend-on-anyone-else-s-strength-but-god-s-strength-to-help-you/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [The strongest reason for giving woman all the opportunities of higher education, for the full development of her faculties, forces of mind and body;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/the-strongest-reason-for-giving-woman-all-the-opportunities-of-higher/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [ They \[leaders in Western Europe\] do not misuse financial instruments, financial injections, but, first of all, seek structural change. This is urgent for our… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/they-leaders-in-western-europe-do-not-misuse-financial-instruments/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [Religion, in its most general view, is such a Sense of God in the soul, and such a conviction of our obligations to him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-doddridge/religion-in-its-most-general-view-is-such-a-sense-of-god-in-the-soul/) [Philip Doddridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-doddridge/) > [By reducing our dependence of foreign oil and increasing alternative energy sources such as ethanol, we can begin to bring down prices at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ryun/by-reducing-our-dependence-of-foreign-oil-and-increasing-alternative/) [Jim Ryun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ryun/) > [A faith which we follow upon orders imposed from outside is no faith, and a community which puts its dependence upon such a pseudo-faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norbert-wiener/a-faith-which-we-follow-upon-orders-imposed-from-outside-is-no-faith/) [Norbert Wiener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norbert-wiener/) > [We need to exert ourselves that much more, and break out of the vicious cycle of dependence imposed on us by the financially powerful:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/we-need-to-exert-ourselves-that-much-more-and-break-out-of-the/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [ The heart becomes sick, as the body becomes sick, and its remedy is al-Tawbah (repentance) and protection \[from transgression\]. It becomes rusty as a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/the-heart-becomes-sick-as-the-body-becomes-sick-and-its-remedy-is-al/) [Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/) > [The safest hands to entrust all things is in the hands of the Almighty God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/the-safest-hands-to-entrust-all-things-is-in-the-hands-of-the/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [Civilization is in no immediate danger of running out of energy or even just out of oil. But we are running out of environment-that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-v-vaitheeswaran/civilization-is-in-no-immediate-danger-of-running-out-of-energy-or/) Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran > [If women be educated for dependence; that is, to act according to the will of another fallible being, and submit, right or wrong, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/if-women-be-educated-for-dependence-that-is-to-act-according-to-the/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) [Browse all 618 Dependence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dependence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Extreme independence is as destructive to a relationship as total dependence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Dobson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/extreme-independence-is-as-destructive-to-a-relationship-as-total/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dependence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/extreme-independence-is-as-destructive-to-a-relationship-as-total/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f3/james-dobson-4773_dependence_extreme-independence-is-as-destructive-t_1563577.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f3/james-dobson-4773_dependence_extreme-independence-is-as-destructive-t_1563577.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f3/james-dobson-4773_dependence_extreme-independence-is-as-destructive-t_1563577.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Extreme independence is as destructive to a relationship as total dependence.” — James Dobson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "James Dobson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Extreme independence is as destructive to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/extreme-independence-is-as-destructive-to-a-relationship-as-total/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/extreme-independence-is-as-destructive-to-a-relationship-as-total/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```