Suspicious and cynical...

[Mikala43]

Originally Posted by Mr. Humble

Once you accept the fact that 9 out of 10 times people are only interested in how you can improve their lives there is nothing to be cynical about; also that's when you can give them a break, for just being normal.

I think this pretty much sums it up. It might sound horrible at a first read, but don't we all hang with people with this in mind? It can be as simple as having a friend because they are so much fun, and we like that in our lives.

I guess the point is to figure out what the other person wants from you to improve their lives. And whether you want to be wanted for that.

[Mr. Humble]

Originally Posted by Mikala43

I think this pretty much sums it up. It might sound horrible at a first read, but don't we all hang with people with this in mind? It can be as simple as having a friend because they are so much fun, and we like that in our lives.

I guess the point is to figure out what the other person wants from you to improve their lives. And whether you want to be wanted for that.

Yeah, and I'd say most of the time it's pretty benign, like this girl might be fun for ME to hang with, not I might be fun for HER to be around. Even when you talk to people for the first few times you can get pretty good at hearing what their NOT saying, what their real intention is. Again, I don't think that this makes people bad. If so then we're ALL mostly bad. Because very few of us are so good at playing the victim that we don't mind self-sacrificing for others. Like, 'this chick bores me to tears but I know I'm good for her, so I don't mind putting my needs second. We might be ok with this once in a while but not as a rule, and not for too long. Must be something in our DNA.