OK, so maybe I got a little carried away in the preceding paragraph, but dang it folks, it’s just not fair – much less kind and considerate – to try to shove off our misery on other people. Others have enough burdens without any of their “friends” adding to it.
The other side of the coin of course, is our personal willingness to provide our sympathy to our “friends” who are requesting it. To emotionally buy into their difficulties and drain our emotional bank in the process. Why would we ever willingly do that? We have enough stuff to think about without trying to pile any more onto our mental/emotional plates. If you are the type of person who really “feels” the emotions associated with another’s problems, you might want to consider transitioning to “empathetic” approach. Try to remove yourself mentally from the personal attachment to whatever might be occurring. This will not only save you lots of emotional wear and tear, but it will likely also give you the ability to perhaps offer more constructive suggestions. Suggestions that just might be able to help your friend move out of the pity room and into a more stable (and enjoyable) environment.
So you see, I really wasn’t being a cruel, heartless ogre when I told my children where they could find the sympathy they frequently (at least initially) requested from me. Instead, I was encouraging them to face their problems and do whatever was necessary to put them in the past. Seems like a productive way to approach life, don’t you think?
About The Author
Gene, through NuPathz.com, provides an easy reading self-help blog, articles and links along with affordable books and materials written to help folks find the road to a more enjoyable lifestyle, to pass on some of life’s “secrets for survival” in a chaotic world & offer a few smiles along the way. It's a down-to-earth, simple approach to discovering a better life. You can visit Gene at http://www.nupathz.com/
gene@nupathz.com
