I was told
I absolutely couldn’t participate
in an event.
I didn’t qualify.
The event was full.
There were no exceptions.
Except there are ALWAYS exceptions
and yes, when I talked
to the correct person,
I became one of the exceptions.
There are ALWAYS exceptions
for EVERYTHING.
If you really want
to be the exception,
continue asking,
continue pushing
until you achieve that goal.
A couple years ago,
I decided
not to argue with people.
I state my stance
and, if…when
the other person states
an opposite stance,
I nod,
tell them I hear them.
If their stance is interesting,
I ask them questions about it.
If it doesn’t interest me,
I move onto another topic.
And I don’t ever return
to that topic with them.
I’ve heard their thoughts.
I don’t need to revisit that.
This has made my life
SO much more peaceful.
It has reduced my stress
and I think it has improved
my relationships with others.
There’s one exception
– one of my good friends
ALWAYS offers an opposing stance.
ALWAYS.
If I say the sky is blue,
she’ll say it is greenish blue.
We’re running out of topics
to talk about.
Before my no argument policy,
I didn’t realize
she was so perverse.
She LIKES to argue.
If I want to continue
spending time with her,
I’ll either have to
continuously come up with
new topics for conversation
or
I will have to break my rules
for her.
There is always an exception
for every rule.
When you set rules,
think about how you will deal
with that exception.