Would you rather be a naive but kind and decent person

Shatbat · Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 2:40 pm Post subject:

The poll was about who got more respect, now who would I rather be. In that case, the jerk will get more respect than the naive guy, in most of the cases.

I used to be a kind, gentle and naive person. And it left. me open to people taking advantage of me, sometimes without knowing about it because of naivety, and sometimes when knowing about it because of gentleness. That's not a good spot to be in.

Now I changed. I can't say I've found the sweet spot yet, sometimes I act too defensively, especially with strangers. And gentle, helping myself with a dictionary, means: Considerate or kindly in disposition; amiable and tender. It's ok to be that with people you know well, but otherwise I act cold rather than pleasing with people I don't know, until I know more about their intentions. Yes, it doesn't help me when it comes to socializing, but it's the lesser of two evils, and I can always rely on meeting someone through a mutual friend, who can vouch for him.

And about being a jerk... although I don't consider myself as one, I've consciously become a good bit more selfish than I used to be (very unselfish.) Even though I may make sacrifices for others, it's important to think about myself as well.

It's still a work on progress, but so far it has worked out well for me.