Respect The Choices Of Others

Respect the choices of others then you won’t feel drained by them.

Happiness is a choice it is not a destination.
Happiness depends on you and your choice, not anything or anyone outside of you.

Many of us spend a tremendous amount of time trying to make others happy. Whether we are doing everything we can to please them and “make them happy”, or trying to fix their problems by providing various solutions, we ourselves may not be grounded in truth.

We become frustrated, irritated, and angry at individuals who refuse to “be fixed by” us, integrate our solutions, or accept our constant advice. 

We label these individuals as negative, cynical, pessimistic, psychic vampires etc.

Since happiness is a choice you may assume everyone chooses to be happy. Therefore, it may never dawn on you that these individuals have chosen to be chronically unhappy. That their feigned blips of “happiness” only to fall into the pits of despair and crisis is how they maintain their unhappiness, much like how you choose a positive outlook and balance in the face of any life situation to maintain your sense of happiness.

You will be drained, frustrated, irritated and angry from your encounter not because these individuals are taking your time and energy, but because you are refusing to accept the fact of their choice to be chronically unhappy.  You are not seeing that their constant seeking of advice, counsel, help, pity, attention, etc. from  those around them is all part of the way they maintain their unhappiness. Ultimately they will never really choose happiness because they are more comfortable being unhappy. That is why they choose it constantly. Unhappiness feeds and supports their true beliefs about themselves and the world around them.

Respect the rights of others to choose for themselves the experience of life they want and you will have less friction and disappointment in your interpersonal relationships.  Respect the fact that though you choose happiness, others have the right to choose unhappiness, and that is out of your control. You can never make anyone happy, it is something they have to choose for themselves.

Respect the choices others…..

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