Sep 14, 2009

To thine own self be true

One of the things which I realize causes me to feel discouraged is when I get a lot of advice (pressure) from other people to do things the way they think I should. I was discussing this with a dear, dear friend recently. It is a balance. I really like getting other people's thoughts on things, as I may not have thought of some viable options. But, opening oneself up to other's thoughts also seems to open oneself up to people trying to convince me of one way or another. I have noticed this all my life, and as the youngest of four children, my older siblings would use tactics to get me to yield to their way. Whenever I have difficult decisions to make, it has seemed that family members and sometimes friends disapprove of the way I am choosing. That is true now too. Some people seem horrified if I leave Dwane home alone (I think he can be safely left some at this point), but on the other extreme I have people who are around Dwane briefly and tell me they think he is "fine". So, once again I am finding my own path amongst the many options, listening to other's thoughts, and choosing for myself.
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2 comments:

  1. KrisSeptember 15, 2009 at 8:40 AM

    Judith, the struggle for maintaining one's own compass while remaining open to others resonates with me. I'm the youngest of four too. I remember being "convinced" that it was a good idea to swallow pennies and sit on a drum I'd received as a gift. Both not good ideas, but probably very entertaining for the advisors. I was once told by a counselor after going on about the advice & opinions of others, "Yes, and they don't have all the information about your life, do they?" And they can't possibly ever.

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  2. Caregiver's TipsSeptember 16, 2009 at 2:59 PM

    Oh, Kris, I am not surprised you resonate with this, as I resonate with what you have written. The shaping, of being the youngest in a family unit, gives us both a gift and a challenge for us to overcome. I like how open we are to listening to other's opinions; while I also like how we grow to listen to our own counsel. Thanks for taking time to read and comment. Judith

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