Rules about people

I found this entry in one of my old diaries from some years ago. Turns out I did not have the common sense to note down the source. Anyway, credit to whoever wrote these first. And as I read them again with new eyes, I disagree with many of them.

1. Everyone is still a child regardless of age and everyone still needs the basic acceptance, attention and emotional stroking that children need.

2. 99% of the population have less than adequate self worth, self esteem, self-confidence and self-image.

3. The other 1% are lying.

4. People don't care how much you know. They do, however know how much you care. Learn to express, not impress.

5. Big listeners are popular. Big talkers are often lonely.

6. A compliment is worth a thousand presents.

7. Everyone must be forgiven unequivocally and permanently. Whatever they may have done, they are products of their own childhood. Anger and bitterness eat away at and destroy those who harbor those feelings and not those towards whom they are directed.

8. People who are angry are often those who are hurting themselves.

9. Everyone would like to have more control over at least one aspect of life, and everyone needs at least one person to whom they can open up completely.

10. No one really cares if you make a fool of yourself. Everyone is far too busy thinking about themselves and their own problems to care much about yours.

11. There's no such thing as rejection, simply a refusal of the product currently on offer. Don't take it personally.

12. Everybody communicates differently with words, feelings, pictures or gesticulations. To create rapport with them, you need to communicate in the same way they do.

13. People that are like each other, tend to like each other. Opposites do attract but often they eventually repel and destroy each other.

14. Do suffer fools gladly. There is actually no such thing as a fool, simply someone less fortunate or less gifted than you and and you can learn from everyone.

15. Never try to change someone (especially children). It becomes a statement that you do not like them.

16. People often do not mean what they say, yet they don't often say what they mean.

17. He who wins the argument, loses the war.

18. If you spend too much time thinking about yourself, then you're likely to end up by yourself.

19. Don't let anybody bounce checks in your emotional bank account. Nobody has the right to chop you down and make you feel small without your permission.

20. The immutable law of life can be stated in many ways:

"What goes around has a habit of coming around, although you might not receive back directly from the hand to whom you give."

"As you sow so shall you reap."

"If you are not getting what you want back out of people and life, then you are simply not putting enough in."


Heavily generalized as the list is, I found a few of these sensible in some contexts - points  1, 8 - 13, 18 and 19. The rest not so much.