I was reading an interesting article in the harvard business e-magazine. It stated that most positive traits if over developed turn into negative traits. It mentioned wit turning into sarcasm as one of them. I have always been accused, by all those who profess to love me, of being painfully sarcastic. Almost everytime this has happened I have never intended it. I have stated a fact in a style I am most comfortable with. I've never really taken these accusations seriously and rarely if ever consider them 'serious'. But reading this article reminded me of an instance where I managed to offend someone with my supposed sarcasm. I got me thinking,"how do u ever know how much is too much?"When does the very thing you admired the most about a person become the thing that keeps you away from them?
I guess the answer lies in our relationships. Someone once said, "no one gets crazy enough to hurt another person before becoming crazy enough for someone to notice." What matters is if you notice. The slight flinch at a casual remark, the pretending to not hear you while you list out the errors you've noticed in someone's work, the ever so discreet sigh when you insist on going over something for the 100th time. These nuances are sometimes almost invisible and extremely easy to brush aside. But if they aren't dealt with before it's too late, they can be the reason someone you care about is walking out the door without a second look.
An argument that almost immediately pops into my mind is, 'why should I change myself for them?' And in the heat of the moment it is easy to get carried away with this ideology. But as much as you may admire the rude and unappologetic hero of a movie who everyone loves despite his arrogance and lack of human skills, ask yourself would you really want to know him?
The answer is truthfully no! We are always willing to forgive but even the most patient person has a threshold. After a certain point jerk-like-behaviour just can't be overlooked.
It's always fun to know a witty person and it's pleasent to be with an easygoing person and it's reassuring to work with a meticulous person but when the wit turns on you as sarcasm and easygoing turns into indifferent and meticulous becomes fastidious, it takes a rare person to not want to wring the very neck they professed to appreciate a while ago.
I guess the answer lies in our relationships. Someone once said, "no one gets crazy enough to hurt another person before becoming crazy enough for someone to notice." What matters is if you notice. The slight flinch at a casual remark, the pretending to not hear you while you list out the errors you've noticed in someone's work, the ever so discreet sigh when you insist on going over something for the 100th time. These nuances are sometimes almost invisible and extremely easy to brush aside. But if they aren't dealt with before it's too late, they can be the reason someone you care about is walking out the door without a second look.
An argument that almost immediately pops into my mind is, 'why should I change myself for them?' And in the heat of the moment it is easy to get carried away with this ideology. But as much as you may admire the rude and unappologetic hero of a movie who everyone loves despite his arrogance and lack of human skills, ask yourself would you really want to know him?
The answer is truthfully no! We are always willing to forgive but even the most patient person has a threshold. After a certain point jerk-like-behaviour just can't be overlooked.
It's always fun to know a witty person and it's pleasent to be with an easygoing person and it's reassuring to work with a meticulous person but when the wit turns on you as sarcasm and easygoing turns into indifferent and meticulous becomes fastidious, it takes a rare person to not want to wring the very neck they professed to appreciate a while ago.
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