Friday, February 3, 2012
Standing My Ground
While spending time with my friend Racheal, another friend and I expressed to her how we felt about her current boyfriend. My friend spoke first by saying how she adores them as a couple, and felt that he is a really nice guy. These comments made Racheal feel really good, and she was glad that my other friend had approved of him. Then when my turn came around, I knew I could not say the same. There was a moment when I thought that I should keep my opinion to myself, but alas I could not sit there and lie to her. I knew that if I communicated it to her correctly and sincerely, she will not be too offended. I had to make sure the words I used were not insulting or attacking. In short I stated to her that I did not like him, that he did not treat her well, and that I felt in a few months, she would find a new guy who will sweep her off her feet. I laid my opinion out in the open and I stood my ground, knowing I could possibly risk damaging or losing our friendship. Little did I know, she ended up valuing my opinion and was curious to how I came to that conclusion. She seemed to dismiss the nicer comments made by my other friend, and respectively focused on where I was coming from. Racheal did not seem the slightest bit mad or upset, and she thanked me for me honesty. The critical thinking skills did help me stand firm in that I was able to analyze how to communicate to her correctly what I wanted to say, and taking into considering what she might say or how it sounded to her.
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Situations like these have to be delicately dealt with. Half the time when I have these conversations with my friend, they get defensive about their situation and significant other. I am not personally attacking their relationship, but it is because I care about my friend that I speak the truth. At the same time, I can understand why they immediately get defensive. Critical thinking plays an important role here and seeing it being successfully used here inspires me to improve my critical thinking skills. I’m happy that you were able to effectively communicate with your friend Racheal on such an important topic because these situations can often put strain on friendships.
ReplyDeleteMiss Summer I agree with what you said to your friend and stood your ground to what you believe was right. Many people get defensive when you disagree with them but you'll never regret your decisions because you let them know what was the right decisions. I usually give my friends my point of view that way it gives them more options to choose and another point of view to think about. These problems take a lot of critical thinking and should be thought out thoroughly before making it. I hope you keep standing strong with your decisions and helping your friends when needed.
ReplyDeleteMoments when you have to tell your friend’s negative news can definitely be a challenge. It’s great that you stood your ground because you gave your friend advice from your point of view. Your critical thinking played to your advantage, which saved you from having any disagreements. Women tend to get very defensive when it comes to their relationships and the fact that she actually listened to what you had to say shows that she values your friendship. I’ve been in similar situations and sometimes you have to let your friends learn from their mistakes especially when they don’t want to hear you out.
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