Stopping Before You Fall Off

“True friends stab you in the front.” — Oscar Wilde

Have you taken a joke too far?

Have you worked out too much and injured yourself?

Have you fallen asleep while trying to do an all-nighter?

Probably yes to all three. And if you haven’t, you know of people who have.

It’s easy to push and push and push and not realize that we should stop. Why is that such a challenge for us as people?

One reason is that everyone has a different comfort level. That’s what I’m going to focus on today during this piece.

Some people might think shows like Impractical Jokers are hilarious. Sometimes I think that their skits are comical. Other times I find them quite over the top and uninvited or ridiculous.

There are many things that we could do that would “push the envelope” but we need to make sure we don’t rip the envelope. There are many dangers with pushing too hard or going too far.

How do you know when to stop?

That’s going to be different in every situation. People are all unique and what might upset or frustrate or agitate one person would not even phase someone else.

Someone might think that something is a joke while someone else finds that same “joke” entirely insulting.

“Everyone is crooked, everybody lies. When people think they’re gods, they’re devils in disguise.” — David Augustine Jr.

We all have our downfalls and our weaknesses.

But beyond that, even just being ourselves could insult certain people.

“If you ask me a direct question I won’t be shy.” — David Goggins

That offends some people so there definitely needs to be a balance. Some people are much more flamboyant and extravagant than I might be so an excess of that level of activity keeps me more alert and less relaxed than some other behavior might.

That could be the opposite for other people. I have no problem with silence and will often go mute for 5 minutes at a time, even when in close proximity to someone else. Some people don’t appreciate that and such behavior leaves them more alert and less relaxed than some other behavior might.

What’s the breaking point?

That’s tough.

It’s going to be different in every situation.

Yet, we need to be proactive and considerate of what may affect others before it does.

We can never sacrifice who we are for the sake of someone else but we can certainly be considerate.