How To Lose Friends And Alienate People

Compromise. Scary word isn’t it? It would certainly appear so, given how much we avoid it. That avoidance is as much about being set in one’s ways as it is an attempt to escape bruising of the ego. No one wants to be the one who has to give in, but in every relationship (even the ones with the inanimate, yeah, like your car, when it absolutely refuses to start coz you couldn’t be diligent enough to disconnect the battery when you knew you weren’t going to drive it for over 2 weeks), there’s give and take and every so often you have to cave (and in the case of the above mentioned stationary automobile, you really can’t do much else. You either get right up and get the battery charged or keep it company in inaction.).

If one were to observe the human relationships in today’s times, you’d see no one ever wants to give, not even an inch. We’ve dug our heels in so deep, we don’t even realize it’s quicksand we’re standing in.
Bet you’re thinking, "sure, great line there, but what’s the analogy"? Well, what I mean to say is we’re so busy being adamant (it’s "my way or no way") that we don’t realize the more we resist the deeper we sink. That is to say, the more we attempt to prove a point, the less we even try to have an open mind and perhaps just for a moment actually consider the other party’s proposition.
Why? Coz heaven forbid we could be wrong. But more importantly, someone else sees that.

So where does the silly impracticality of this stubbornness land us?
A place no one wants to be, as Switchfoot puts it: Alone, Unknown, Unheard.
Alright, so maybe that’s a tad too dramatic. But what this rigidity does do is drive people away. Because who can really put up with someone who always refuses to yield. You can’t blame em, coz you’d do the same. In fact you do do the same. And thus, the vicious, unrelenting circle of not relenting.
So, to borrow from Staind, how do you Break the Cycle?
By doing exactly that, breaking the cycle. You find your area of comfort, your safe ground and on that, you accommodate. You might have to step out just a bit in some cases, but soon you’ll be met half way and on that happy medium, you’ll live happily ever after (really wanted to end that sentence with something cheesy. :D).

So, going back to the trusty steed that refused to gallop, the only effort you need to make is to take it out for a ride sometime the middle of the week and what do you know, soon she’s purring like a kitten. :)

PS: I think I’ve infringed enough copyrights in this post to guarantee me more than a just a couple of days in court!