People Make Their Own Decisions
Respect their autonomy so that they may feel like individuals.
It dawned on me that a lot of people I know will not be influenced or persuaded. They will do what they do regardless of what I think or how I feel. It turns out many older people who have lived more life than I realized this at some point in the past and embedded this knowledge into their own decision-making and life affairs.
All of us strive to feel as though we have a self that we can control that has autonomy, individuality, and the ability to relate to others. That’s a core aspect of what makes us stable, connected, and sane. Hence, it’s imperative for the rest of us to realize this and allow those seeking this independence to keep it and perform by its rules.
We can try as hard as we can to teach, preach, persuade, and change people, but they will not change unless they decide on it themselves. So, we would do better to persuade them of the benefits of changing that outweigh the trouble and stress associated with making the change or altering their perspective.
Over many years, I refused to come outside of myself and fight my depression, lack of action, and lack of desire for living. I thought this was how it was going to be and there was nothing I could do to change the course of my life and I should…
