I call it the “Poor-Little-Old-Me Turnpike”. On this road, the traveler will buy into the lie that happiness comes to the lucky ones and that he is just not lucky. He will believe that some people just got a better break in life than he did and that it is simply his lot in life to suffer.
Travelers on the “Poor-Little-Old-Me Turnpike” become really good at developing excuses, so much so that they begin to deceive themselves.
They refuse to see life through a healthier, more positive lens. Any attempts to encourage them towards taking responsibility for their circumstances are categorically rejected.
Their goal, whether they know it or not, is sympathy. They end up draining their friends and loved ones of all sympathy, however, because their insatiable appetites becomes a never-satisfied desire.
Eventually, they become addicted to the sympathy that they receive and honesty and integrity lose their value. They lie to themselves, they lie to others, and they live as a constant victim.
Road signs on this superhighway include the constant revisiting of past events and the continuous need for sympathy. Travelers here tend to make many roadside stops to tell others about the hurts of the past.
If you find yourself on this highway, don’t beat yourself up. Many of us will get on this highway for a time or even many times throughout our lives. The key is to recognize it and to get off of it.
- Exercise:
Have you ever found yourself trapped on the “Poor-Little-Old-Me Turnpike”?
Are you on it now?
Write down one thing you have pitied yourself for that perhaps you could decide to take responsibility for instead.
Integral Development Forum 