Agreeableness
“a state of being cooperative, polite, kind, and friendly”
I strive to be agreeable but I’m not always successful. Where I sometimes fail is when I feel I’ve been wronged or unfairly treated. It’s easy to be agreeable when things go my/our way, but what about when they don’t?
The other variable in this equation is our intent for being agreeable. Are we being honest about it or are we being people-pleasers? It’s a fine line and takes a good amount of self-awareness. When weighing our options, sometimes being agreeable is the simplest approach and at other times it can be the most difficult.
This past week an incident happened where I was treated unfairly (the details are immaterial). It was all I could do not to lash out at the perpetrators…who for all intents and purposes were nice people who just happened to be clueless about said unfairness. I held an inner dialogue (debate) in my head:
“what would be gained by lashing out at them?”
”…but they were wrong to do what they did”
”they don’t even realize it. are they worth losing your peace? You’ll never see them again in your life.”
“…yes but…they need to know how unfair it was”
”will it change what happened at all?”
”…no but, they should know better”
”Maybe…but for now they don’t. So, hold your tongue. Do some deep breathing. Remember that life isn’t always fair. Sometimes you’re the one who is being unfair. Today it was them.”
How about you? Is agreeableness a core value for you?
BTW…here’s what it looked like to begin with …
joyfully,
Maureen
The Mandala Lady
encouraging and inspiring curiosity, creativity, and play through the art of mandalas
About the 2024 Mandalas of the Day
Each day I will create and post a mandala inspired by one of 366 “value” words chosen randomly. The objective being to discover for myself which ones would best represent my core values…and by doing so, I hope it inspires you to determine your own.
Mandala of the Day 