Wednesday, May 5, 2010

moving forward by stepping back?


full disclosure: i have the unfortunate habit of being incredibly nosy. that nosiness has translated into some good qualities--i've become a pretty good listener, i think, due to my never-ending interest in people telling me all the little details of their lives--and some bad ones, the worst of which (aside from plain old annoyingness) is that i tend to become overly invested in whatever i'm being told. on top of my other unfortunate habit of tending to fixate (wow, i am a bundle of joy, huh?), this means that i often hang on to things way longer than i should--or care way too much.

so i'm starting to think i need to draw some boundaries, because lately i find myself getting wound up about things i'm hearing or being told and not being able to concentrate on what's actually important. i'm not sure how this is going to go, because, on the flip side, i pride myself on being a pretty caring, emotionally in-tune person. but i think i'm going to add it to my list of commitments for the next few weeks.

have you ever had to take a step back? did you find it freeing?

{ photo by alicia bock }

3 comments:

  1. Yes. And it is always better to pause. Pause has become my favorite word. xoxoxoxox

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  2. I've had to do that in my life. The biggest and probably the hardest time I've had to remove myself from something that was emotionally killing me, was my brother. He's not a bad person, but has done enough to me and my mother that I actually can't hardly hear about him without getting mad. (sigh.) So, it's easier for me to not have him in my life. I'm a healthier, happier person because of it. But it's something I actually have to constantly remind myself that it's for the best.

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  3. Hi - I think it's really important to take time to edit your level of involvement in other people's lives. Being there as a friend is priceless, but sometimes being a step back is also important. As you say you care too much...so its a case of maybe still caring but not immersing quite so much. Think of it as a dip rather than a fully submerged swim! L x

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