Learning to Put off Pettiness

I have learned over the past few years that there are some things in life which take so much energy that to continue them is not helpful for my health or my spirit.  One of those things is pettiness.  So many things in life are really petty.  When you allow pettiness to control you, it drains you and those around you.  As one blogger LoveBabz states, acting in a petty way is manipulation in disguise.

The Free Dictionary says petty is  "Marked by meanness or lack of generosity, especially in trifling matters."  I have experienced pettiness in people whom I considered to be close to me, and unfortunately, the worst of these situations resulted in an end of communicating with the people.  I still love these people, but when it hurts to communicate with someone after repeated attempts, you begin to realize that it is best that you each go your separate ways so that you can each experience a fuller life.

Though I may not be able to comprehend someone's utter irrationality, trying to convince a person that their ways are petty is usually a futile attempt.  The only person you can change is yourself, so you can only do your best and keep moving forward.

As Walt Disney states, "Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious... and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." Even though Disney may have been referring to inventions, the quote can be applied to life in general.

Sometimes I must remind myself to make a conscience effort to escape manipulation of petty actions and talk.  Pettiness keeps you from moving forward, because being petty usually causes you to look back... back at someone's mistakes, someone's failures, someone's incompetence.  And since we can't change the pettiness in others, the best change we can make is to get rid of our own petty actions, and avoid the pettiness of those who inflict it upon us.