TUESDAY WITH TONI | THWARTING TOXICITY | TIMELY TOPIC
Phucket List
Stand your ground… protect your peace, and sustain your sanity by detailing what you won’t 🚫 tolerate
“A lot of what weighs you down isn’t yours to carry.” — Mel Robbins
According to Psychology Today writer Abigail Brenner, M.D., repeatedly engaging in drama is a choice. It’s NOT something that keeps randomly happening. Drama is present in people for a myriad of reasons. The most common are…
🚩Power Play/Control Changes 🚩Jealousy/Cause Disruptions 🚩Garner Attention/Add Excitement
Theatrical Metaphor Shift
Dramatic people will always attempt to move center stage in your life. They’re experts at flipping the script. Relinquishing the spotlight in your story is a choice. Remember, the tale is yours to tell.
The role that fits you best is the star. You were cast at the center of your story at birth. So, never give a dramatic person an opening to walk on and command the stage set for you to shine on.
My “Phucket List” doubles as an early warning system. Over the past five decades, I’ve crossed paths with far too many drama queens and kings. I drew on past experiences to subdivide them into 3 categories.
🚩 Living Dead 🚩 Energy Vampires 🚩 Serial Dream Killers
For The Record
This list was compiled as a visual reminder to STOP me from becoming like or aligning with any of the three characters mentioned.
Category 1: Living Dead
This category reminds me of the Brad Pitt movie “World War Z.” It’s filled with fast-moving zombies. Their sad stories read like tales from the crypt.
They are seeping soars, trapped in the routines of a rootless existence. They troll social media, endlessly doom scrolling to feed on the misery of others. They are primed to repost bad news that reeks of destruction.
These people are amplifiers of the worst in humanity because it confirms their negativity bias. They are notoriously hard to avoid because they work at a place near you.
Category 2: Energy Vampires
This class of soul suckers hides behind the guise of goodness. Proximity to local organizations makes them the hardest people in the world to avoid. You cross paths with them in local volunteer and religious settings.
The first red flag is a pessimistic attitude. Their snarky words expose them. They see the downside in every situation. They are siloed in small groups. They staunchly support dogma, rules, and regulations to justify doing what they want to do the way it’s always been done.
Affiliation is their jam. They jockey for titles as payment in non-profits, then use them to lord over supposed subordinates. Beware because they are always recruiting. The goal is to extract energy. Once a target is depleted, they move on to drain the next sucker.
Devette Lindsay sent me this YouTube video after reading this post. Please watch it.
Category 3: Serial Dream Killers
These folks call themselves devil’s advocates. They dispense unsolicited advice on business matters they know nothing about. They know about your business because they are either family or related through a friend.
If you listen, you’ll learn they are stuck in a place of perpetual grief and are mourning the death of their dream. You don’t have to dig too deep to learn why. Their dream died for one of two reasons. Either inaction or failure.
If the reason is inaction, they have an endless list of excuses for never starting. If it’s the latter, fear overshadows failure, and trying again just isn’t an option. Watching someone rise on the heels of a similar failure irritates their demons.
Takeaway
Limit your exposure to the distractions caused by disruptive drama queens and kings. Script your story. Arrive on the scene with your dialog intact. Maintain your position of power and ability to navigate change. These qualities ultimately empower you to protect your peace of mind.
❤️About Me 🎤Toni the Talker ←🆘Growing Older & Bolder ❤️
Rewriting my Reality ➖ Walking My Talk 💬 Becoming Better NOT Bitter