Blog entry for:

Tue, Dec 8, 2009 08:23:35 AM


« **people pleasing** just means i am nice to people, right? »
posted: Tue, Dec 8, 2009 08:23:35 AM

 

not quite, it means i lie about my feelings, my beliefs, and my needs, trying to soothe others into compliance with my wishes. this just happens to be one of my favorite examples of how misnaming one of my character defects, allows me to ignore it or even worse pretend it is not there. before i launch into this, a bit of check-in is requires. yes, i am tired of the snow and cold, and cannot wait for the weather to return to what may be considered "average" for this time of year. yes i am a bit disconcerted about one of my clients going away. and yes, i have been lazy over the past few days and not done any fitness work. so it is no wonder, that i am a bit out of sorts so to speak, spiritually, emotionally and physically. my plan? well i am going to do a work out as soon as i post this particular ditty and bill all the clients i have been meaning to bill and take a deep breath and let myself calm down and be present for what is going on, oh yeah, do a bit of step work with one of my sponsees who happened to send me his work last night.
so with that out of the way, the next question is what, if any character defects am i deluding myself about today? am i being aggressive and calling it assertive? am i being lazy and calling it **kicked-back**? as those examples clearly illustrate it is not the misnaming of character defects that i have a problem with, it is mislabeling the behaviors and deluding myself that they are spiritual when actually they are not. it is a nice piece of sophistry, and when it works, can be, oh so comforting, the problem? well, when the bubble of self-delusion bursts, i am left in a world of hurting as i then have to go back and clean-up the damage i have caused, by acting-out. the irony here, is that i work steps and practice a program of active recovery, is that i do get better, HOWEVER, the part of me i call addiction does also. it gets better at deceiving me, and disguising my actions with spiritual camouflage. the cure? well for one being present for what the people around me are trying to tell me, by paying attention to not only what they are saying, but their body language, facial expressions and how they say it. it is after all, how the POWER that keeps me clean tells me i am f*cking up.
so off to the basement to get back on a physical track and get rid of the growing lethargy i have accumulated over the past few days. it is a good day to recover and to be aware of who i am and what i am really doing.

∞ DT ∞

 

djtConsulting Brand
The views expressed on this page are solely the opinion of the author.
While the author is a member of a 12 Step recovery fellowship, these writings are not intended to endorse or express the published wisdom of any fellowship.
These writings are not meant to be socially or politically correct, and if you take issue with any opinions expressed, please seek the guidance of someone wiser than me.

Another Look!

∞  naming defects  ∞ 292 words ➥ Wednesday, December 8, 2004 by: donnot
∞ spinning a character defect or three ∞ 387 words ➥ Thursday, December 8, 2005 by: donnot
δ sometimes my readiness to have my character defects removed depends on what i call them δ 163 words ➥ Friday, December 8, 2006 by: donnot
∞ i may have trouble identifying my character defects. ∞ 379 words ➥ Monday, December 8, 2008 by: donnot
† when i see how my character defects affect my life and accept them † 676 words ➥ Wednesday, December 8, 2010 by: donnot
→ i will call my defects by their true names ← 574 words ➥ Thursday, December 8, 2011 by: donnot
∅ as time passes, i am becoming progressively better ∅ 407 words ➥ Saturday, December 8, 2012 by: donnot
≈ to put it bluntly, people-pleasing means ≈ 504 words ➥ Sunday, December 8, 2013 by: donnot
♠ i lie about my feelings, my beliefs, and my needs, ♠ 640 words ➥ Monday, December 8, 2014 by: donnot
✌ calling all defects, ✌ 467 words ➥ Tuesday, December 8, 2015 by: donnot
¿ people pleasing, ? 704 words ➥ Thursday, December 8, 2016 by: donnot
🎏 seeing how 🎏 756 words ➥ Friday, December 8, 2017 by: donnot
💨 by clearly and honestly 💬 563 words ➥ Saturday, December 8, 2018 by: donnot
🌬 ** easygoing, ** 🌫 441 words ➥ Sunday, December 8, 2019 by: donnot
🌤 my defects exist 🌥 355 words ➥ Tuesday, December 8, 2020 by: donnot
🔘 less defective 🔘 512 words ➥ Wednesday, December 8, 2021 by: donnot
👨 i certainly am 👹 417 words ➥ Thursday, December 8, 2022 by: donnot
🕊 autonomy for 🕊 457 words ➥ Friday, December 8, 2023 by: donnot
Spacer Image

☯ The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao ☯

THE TAO TEH KING, OR THE TAO AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS
by Lao-Tse
Translated by James Legge

Book 2

4) The great state only wishes to unite men together and nourish them;
a small state only wishes to be received by, and to serve, the other.
Each gets what it desires, but the great state must learn to abase
itself.