Am I a manipulative person?

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Me? Could I be? No, never! How could I be? How could I be? How could I be?

First, I must start with the question: what does it mean to be “manipulative”? When I think about what “manipulation” is, I think of someone who maliciously attempts to control someone or something to benefit themselves.

But… don’t we all do this sometimes? And… it’s not always “malicious”, right?

When I think about “manipulation”- I think “bad”. Sneaky. Selfish. A liar. Self-serving. Unkind. Uncompassionate. Unempathetic.

Eek! I don’t want to be these things!

But to speak honestly, I also want what I want. And truthfully, I sometimes go to great lengths to get what I what I want. And truthfully, I do manipulate- to change, control, or sway- situations or people, in order to get what I want. Not out of malicious, but out of desire.

So, I think I need to face the truth: I can be a manipulative person.

Can’t everyone be?

Examples of Manipulation

Manipulation can come in all shapes in sizes. Manipulation can be relativity innocent, such as ordering an iced coffee without ice so you can get more coffee in your cup. Manipulation can also be dangerous, such as lying about your vaccination status to hang out…