JORGE RODRIGUES SIMAO

Do you take many of the things others say about you or do to you personally?  Assuming that you are like most people, I would venture to say that the answer is a resounding yes.  As a matter of course we all have a natural tendency to overreact to certain actions of other human beings.  Taking things personally is more proof of our selfishness. Each and every one of us who takes things personally believes on some level or another that "this world is all about me." To be sure, it's all too easy to take things personally. But you must learn how not to take what others think, say or do personally if happiness is one of your goals. Whether it's getting overlooked for an invitation to an important event, being cut off in traffic, or receiving bad service in a restaurant, don't look at any of these events as an attack or personal slight on you by others. Truth be known, they are doing it to everyone else.

Is not life a hundred times too short for us to bore ourselves?" asked Friedrich Nietzsche. The obvious answer is: "Yes!" Boredom, even so, is a condition that affects millions of North Americans. Boredom deprives people of the meaning of life and undermines their zest for living. Although it would seem to specifically affect those who are idle and jobless, people with high-status and well-paying careers can be just as affected.

Think of some of the great difficulties that you have experienced over the years - ones that you invited into your life on some level or another. This applies to financial dilemmas, dysfunctional relationships, speeding tickets, lawsuits, time-wasting arguments, health problems, and family feuds. For good measure, you can add any other predicament that you could have bypassed in some way or form. Wouldn't it have been easier to avoid these situations than trying to get out of them later?

Sadly, it's all too easy and irresistible for most humans to play the victim game. The thing that is impressive about self-proclaimed victims is how tenacious they are in directing their energy into shunning responsibility and complicating their lives. I hope that you won't fall into the trap of experiencing victimhood too often - given that people who do so are seldom successful. Claiming you are a victim is the ultimate expression of selfishness because you are basically saying that "everything is about me." If you play the victim game, you should get yourself one of those T-shirts that say, "Yes, it is all about me."