By Amanda Morin
There is a serious problem among men and women that has strong links to their childhood. It’s a condition called fabrication! When we were little, many of us played a game called telephone where you would sit in a circle and whisper a message into the ear of the person sitting next to you. It was a game to see how the message changes from person to person. Not much changes from when we were younger; we still have best friends with whom we share everything. But there are times when that secret does not stay secret for long! Do we never grow out of it or is it just certain people that experience this problem?
One reason this might happen is that things get lost in translation. You might tell your friend that you met up with your ex, but what your friend is processing might be slightly different. He or she might have registered “ex” and assumed you hooked up with them. And once it get’s down the grapevine, your message is completely garbled. The message may have turned into: you hooked up with your ex and got caught by their new boyfriend/girlfriend. A fight ensued and now said ex is asking for protected custody of your dog. It’s silly but it’s also human nature!
Another reason that this may occur is that people are just plain drama queens! Yes, men, you are guilty of this too! We all love to stir the pot and once it hits the fan, we like to kick back and watch. It’s not that we want to hurt our friends; we just want a little entertainment in our lives. Better you than me!
Is there a way to stop this from happening? Well, one thing that I have learned is that, even your closest friends tend to gossip. I am guilty of it too! You need to recognize that it is not meant maliciously. But, if there is one thing that you do not want getting out, keep it to yourself! Your friends are only human and are not legally bound to confidentiality.
In reality, we are all playing the telephone game. We share a little too much of our lives with people (if you haven’t noticed, Facebook and Twitter are networks just for this purpose!) We are used to telling everyone we know that our dog ate the Rice Krispies we just made and that we had a terrible day at work and need a drink. By reigning yourself in and training yourself to deal with situations in a different way, you are not only reducing the amount of drama in your life, but you are also learning to be more self reliant!