We Teach People

I have an acquaintance who always makes me feel awkward.😬 Within seconds of a random meeting, I start to feel less-than. I know exactly what’s coming- jokes at my expense, poking fun at whatever I happen to be doing, 😂laughing at me. I’m always the punchline. This isn’t someone that I see often. As a matter of fact, I rarely run into them, and I like a lot of things about them. But- over the years, it’s always the same song and dance. It always makes me uncomfortable. But I always laugh along like it doesn’t bother me.😞

Every joke comes back to me being an idiot. 😡Maybe they think I love the joke because I go along with it and play the part whenever the jokes begin.🤷🏻‍♀️ I don’t act like myself. I feel flustered and misspeak. I laugh nervously. I don’t respond with any words that I would like to use. I’m never ready with a witty comeback because I hope it will be different every time I see this person. It never is.🌀 It’s the same conversation cycle each time.

Maybe they actually think I’m an idiot. If that’s the case, then it’s out of my hands. Someone else’s perception cannot be my problem. 💯I know I’m not an idiot. Yet, I know I’m behaving like an idiot when I laugh along at my own expense.😬 I do it because it’s easier than explaining that I don’t appreciate the jokes aimed at me. It’s easier than making something of an issue when I don’t want an issue. True friends and family don’t do this to me. They accept me for who I am.🙌 It only happens when this person is around, which isn’t all that often, so it’s okay to let it go, right? 👍🏻Wrong. 👎🏻

We teach people how to treat us by what we allow.💥By laughing along with the punchlines directed at me, I seem to embrace them. I don’t.❌ There are times when other people are around during these awkward exchanges, which could make them think differently of me, too. I need to shut it down. I’m just awful at confrontation. 😏Anyone else? It feels easier to get through it and move on. That’s not really wrong. It works at the moment. I’m hardly around this person. ✅The problem with my strategy is that it allows the behavior to continue. How much is too much? I guess it’s up to me to decide the answer to that.

We teach people how to treat us by what we allow. 💯Teach them well.💖