Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Michaels  I am worried about what people think, not because I worry over lost opinion, but simply because people have a hold over your life and where it can go. We are forever trapped, playing our roles, exhausting as they may be. |
I read this over the summer:
Carl Jung's Diagnosis, Bill Jensen's Treatment Quote:
Originally Posted by Lychee Do you sometimes worry that people operating at different level may betray your trust? In a way, aren't you trusting them by being so open and unattached? |
Trusting them with what, really? It is one thing to know something, and another to care about it. I know, for instance, that global warming is occurring. But I do not care, because I do not believe it is a crisis.
I am a strong introvert myself, and simply being in the same room with a lot of people can drain me pretty quickly. When I hold a conversation in person, it is difficult to talk at my peak intellectual level, because it takes me a moment of reprocessing to understand them. (It's far easier with textual conversations, because I can re-read ad nauseum.)
But I have gained respect nearly everywhere I have gone, by being me, by doing what I believe is right. I refrain from making enemies; I work to cause good things to happen. I have two rules in life: don't be afraid, and don't be stupid. I know that I deserve what respect I have, and don't deserve what I do not have. But I do not care about this respect. It is useful, because people are more inclined to listen to those they respect, and it is easier to accomplish things when people listen to you, but I can and do live without it.
I don't need to trust people. I trust myself. I trust myself to gain the respect I need to do what I want to do, and no more.