I am the first child in my family. And since I was child, I got used to become the listener of my parents' problems, especially my mother. My mother told me everything about my family's problems. Therefore, I grew up as an empath. I don't complain a lot because I know my parents are struggling too with their own problems. I am sensitive to people's problems and I can be a good listener too. However this trait is like a double-edged sword. When I meet people who have the same traits as me, those people vibe well with me. They become my confidants. We give and take equally. But this world is full of positive and also negative people. Sometimes I meet negative people. They are the people who complain a lot, blame everything, and take everything for granted. These people manage to transfer the negativity to others to gain support, to ask for empathy, to dump their problems. They are unable to solve their problems by themselves. These people take so much but give very little. And in my life I have met several people with these traits. Back in the university, I had one close friend. We were very close at first. But then she started being negative and dumped all her problems to me. I tried to accept her and gave her advices, but she kept refusing to accept others' advice. And the worse part also, she lied to me. Like a lot. I gave up on her. She cried and begged me to come back. It was so tiring to have that kind of friendship. And it turned out that not only me who felt that way. My two other friends who were close with her also felt the same. They felt that she was too much and they did not trust her anymore.
It's just one example of unhealthy friendship I had in the past. In recent years I have encountered various kind of people. I have met psychopath, narcissist, self-absorbed, whatever you call it. People who want attention. People who are not sincere. People who are inauthentic. I took that as a learning process. I learn to identify which people deserve your time and which people don't. It's still difficult for me to create boundaries, honestly. Because deep down inside, I always believe I should give them chances. May be they will change, may be they will be better if I change my treatment to them, may be they will change if I act nicer. And the answer is NO. People don't change easily. People change because they realize they have problems and they want to change. People don't change no matter how you tell them. It's something you can't comprehend and something you can't expect from people.
So when my friendship is continuously overwhelming. When it keeps making me doubtful and upset because of the negative things they share, why should I be friends with that person? Why should I keep listening to their problems when I can say NO? Why should I keep feeding their ego by becoming their shoulder to cry on? Why should I be the trash can?
A good positive person will not complain a lot. They see problems as challenges. When they have conflict with someone else, they try to see whether they are on the wrong side as well and not judging or blaming. They don't criticize others often and more of a supporter for whatever decision someone has made. They don't see their friends as "a competition". They know how to make decisions without relying on others. They deal with their problems effectively and quickly. I don't say it's not fine to complain. But there is a limit to it. When people keep coming back with the same complains on and on again, it means there is a problem with those people. Whether they can't make a decision or they are too stubborn to change or accept others' advice. They avoid toxic people and spend more time with positive like-minded people.
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