SERIOUSLY SPEAKING - SNEAKY, SNEAKY

Passive aggressive actors are seriously sneaky folk!  Think about it…

They get to hit and hide!  They act out their anger without consequences.  Who can tell what they are up to? 

Even if we are suspicious about their true intent, we don't want to be the meany who outs one of these poor pathetic souls, do we?

How do we learn this behavior in the first place?  

Is it really part of the human 'genome'?  

Or is it one of those learned behaviors that get passed down over time?

DANCE WITH IT!   EXPERIENTIAL APPS                           

An opportunity to experiment with some fun ideas…

ONCE AGAIN - AWARENESS IS KEY!

If you feel like someone is angry with you:

          But they are smiling…

          But they are not telling you they are angry…

          But they are doing things that cause you stress…  

Ask yourself what you could do if your assumption were true? 

Would you ask them if they were angry?  Would you tell them that their behavior seemed angry?  Would you do something to protect yourself?

And if you are the one acting passive aggressively:

Ask yourself what you might be angry about. 

Could you deal with this anger in a more direct way?  What is really emotionally healthy for you? 

Ask yourself how you learned this indirect way of dealing with anger? 

Observe those around you.  Can you recognize this behavior in others?  How does it make you feel?