When Aaron and I first started dating, he told me he’d gone through a period of significant personal growth a few years earlier. And my reaction was: “Wow, that’s great!”
Today, he recalled that conversation and said my reaction was very different to most people’s. He explained that most people thought he was weird and that personal growth was “woo woo”.
It made me realise there are two types of people in this world.
Firstly, there are those who believe they are in control of their own destiny. If they aren’t happy with their circumstances, they ask themselves what they can do to make a change. They understand that if they want others to change, they need to change themselves first in order to positively impact and influence others. They embrace the concept of personal development.
Second, there are those who believe that things happen to them — that their destiny is shaped by some external force. If they aren’t happy with their circumstances, they blame those around them, or they blame it on ‘bad luck’. They believe they don’t need to change — instead they try to change the people around them. These people shun the concept of personal development and think it’s for weirdos, hippies and unicorns.
People aren’t fixed to either group — everyone is capable of making a switch, whether they’re aware of it or not. And it doesn’t bother me which group you’re in. But if you happen to meet someone from the other group, at least be open minded enough to hear them out and learn something about their way of thinking, instead of poo-pooing it immediately.
That is all. Happy Saturday!
