I love to read, especially science fiction and fantasy. Not only is it an escape, but the good authors also include bits of wisdom that are worth contemplating.
For example, in a book I read one character said something to a second character that could have been interpreted in different ways. The second character chose to find the comment “amusing rather than annoying.” In the context of the book, this made sense. The first character had a rather annoying personality. She was basically a good person, but was lacking in social skills at times.
I’ve thought about this quite a bit. We decide how we want to interpret things people say and do. Based upon our interpretation, we decide how we want to respond. This can work for or against us.
I have a friend whose outlook on life is basically negative and he has a tendency to take things personally. We could be having lunch together and receive the same service. If the service wasn’t good, he’d interpret it as the server intentionally providing him with poor service to annoy or anger him. I’d be more likely to interpret is as the server was poorly trained, was having a bad day, or just wasn’t suited to customer service. I might find it annoying, but I wouldn’t take it personally. This would allow me to let it go much easier.
My husband, as I’m sure is true of all spouses (myself included), does things that bug me. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with what he does, it just bugs me. I am trying to find these things endearing rather than annoying. It works—sometimes.
There are times when we need to speak up, of course. If we don’t, the other person will never know how we feel or what we think. Sometimes, though, I think we should consider the intent and decide whether we want to find it “annoying or amusing.”
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