4. The Manipulator
Watch out for manipulators, or bullies, who try to use their negativity to intimidate and manipulate your thoughts. If you study them from a distance, you will realize that these people are overly self-focused. In other words, the people around them (YOU) fit into their plan simply based on how they can be used or manipulated for their own personal gain.
These people routinely prioritize their own feelings and needs over and above everyone else's. They will demand that you bend over backward to help them, but if, you ever need help, they will not be around.
The bottom line: Some people will say and do anything, thoughtlessly, to get others to do what they want them to do. Do not accept this behavior as normal. When someone tries to bully you, stand up for yourself and say, "Not on my watch! This is out of order!" And if they refuse to reason with you, walk away without a fight.
5. The Actor
Sometimes, you will have to deal with people who insist that you should be someone else. But, in the long run, it's always better to be disrespected for who you ARE than respected for who you ARE NOT. in fact, the only relationships that work well are the ones that make you a better person without changing you into someone other than yourself, and without preventing you from outgrowing the person you used to be.
In life, you will change. Sometimes your family and friends will fail to recognize this and continue to label you in an unfair way based on who you used to be; and it's easy to end up CONFORMING to these labels because you remember when they were true.
What's important to remember is that you're the only person in the world who knows what's happening inside your head right now. People who don't know you well may assume you're someone else entirely. And people who think they know you well may have pigeonholed you - but you know there's more to you than what they see!
When you IGNORE their opinions and decide to be who you are, instead of who they want you to be, you open yourself up to real love, real happiness, and real success. There is no need to put on a mask. There is no need to pretend to be someone you're not.
You don't have control over what others think about you, but you do have control over how you decide to internalize their opinions. Leave them to their own judgments. Don't feel threatened and don't conform just to please them. Let people love you for who you are, and not for who they want you to be. Or let them walk away if they choose. They can't harm you either way; it's their understanding that is faulty, not yours.
More to come...
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