Paradox

Here's a word for you....

Paradox.

I find myself constantly running into them.

Do less to get more....

"Overqualified" for a job that's a perfect fit....

Being "Too Nice"

We're encouraged to do the right thing but often punished for doing just that.  I've found that all too often being reliable, nice and accommodating had gotten me many pats on the back but little progress forward.

It's just not the world we live in.  You can be everyone's friend and confidant but ultimately end up the world's doormat.

That's fine if you're Mother Theresa and have a Nobel Prize waiting for you but the rest of us are unlikely to rise to such lofty heights of perceived selflessness.  Oh and by the way, even Mother Theresa had a strong sense of self-preservation.  She freely accepted medical care but denied any such relief to those dying in hospice.

There's a paradox, a life devoted to ending suffering...most of the time.

OK so she was human after all but for the rest of us unlikely to be elevated to posthumous sainthood what's the point?

For me it just seems natural to want to help but where to draw the line.  I have a problem with saying no to all but the most extreme conditions of self-preservation.

My reward for such contorted altruism is something I frequently have to make excuses for.

I'm no saint.  I'm not perfect but I do always try to understand the other side and in this world that seems to be an anathema.

Killer Instincts and assertiveness, regardless of who gets hurt, are the keys to success.
The other option is just a perversion of the "nice guy" in the guise of the "Yes Man" that acts as doormat in hopes of sneaking up the ranks.

That's just passive aggression.  I'm not about that.

So I suppose my societal fit is a bit off.  I only get pissed off when faced with the reality of my station as disposable because of it.  I know I'm not some unworthy scrap with an overheated sense of fairness.  I am, however, overly concerned with everyone else being happy.  I'm not self-aggrandizing here BTW,  It's something that has not served me.

So be it, I can't and won't be something I'm not.  The payoff isn't worth it.

I do have limits even if they seem generous but don't be surprised if I "push back" when you eventually run headlong into my lowest levels of self-preservation. Everybody does it, eventually.


I'm still a nice guy but I'm working on being less and less of a doormat.

The trick is not to become less and less human.  The definition of which is less than attractive for all those "winners" out there.