I've given it up. I don't need or want someone's negativity or attitude. I used to carpool with a colleague. We had done a lot of sewing stuff together, and in that way, we had a lot in common. We worked with the same kids at school. We had never ridden together, however, until she suggested it. What an eye-opener! I knew that some of our colleagues considered her to be somewhat negative, but I never truly got it until we rode together back and forth to school. I wasn't sure how to get out of it without hurting her feelings. Luckily, we only rode together for a few months before it was almost June, and she needed to stay later at school than I wanted to, so we were able to stop riding together. When it was time for school to resume in the fall, we never got back to it, and I was very relieved. A few years ago, a new colleague who lived close to me was hounding me to ride together, so he could save money, and I finally told him that I discovered I just wasn't a carpool sort of person, and I preferred to ride alone. I mentioned that he wouldn't like my music or my singing, and I'd hate to destroy our professional relationship over that!
I will admit that I've dropped people on Facebook because of their negativity. To read someone's post with all of their issues out there is not very fun or relaxing for me, and that's why I have a Facebook page, so away they go. One gal liked to lecture me that not everyone gets the summer off (no teacher, this one!), and after three summers of this, I removed her. What a relief. What took me so long? I can't be someone's personal therapist; I'm not qualified, and it's a poor reason to have a friendship, mostly because it is so one-sided. My life outside of school needs to be for me and my family, and I can't do that if someone is literally sucking the happiness out of my interactions with them. I suppose some people might consider my attitude to be selfish, but that's more their problem than mine.
2 comments:
Yes, yes, yes! Loved this post Tracy and couldn't agree more. It's not selfish at all. We can't be there for everyone and it's amazing how quickly the negativity can rub off on us too. Wise decisions for a happier life. :-)
Hooray for unfriending people. I had one teaching colleague who consistently griped about students. I appreciate ventilating, but the tone and spirit of his posts sucked the happy out of scrolling through Facebook.
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