Don’t Get Addicted to Powerlessness

Wise words from T. K. Coleman, whose blog I read daily:

Being a victim is rewarding.

It elicits sympathy and attention while insulating us from the challenges that come with taking responsibility for our lives.

These rewards, however, come with a cost. The benefits of victimhood can only be procured at the expense of personal power.

When you frame your life in terms of how uniquely unfair the universe is to you, your ability to think critically and creatively diminishes. Simple problems become unsolvable and ordinary people become unbearable.

We ought to educate children about the dangers of thinking like victims with the same fervor we exhibit when teaching them about harmful drugs.

Because, like harmful drugs, getting high off being a victim feels good but it will eventually rob you of your sanity, your resources, and your friends while simultaneously transforming you into a magnet for manipulators, invalidators, and time-wasters.

Skyler.

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Founder and editor of Everything-Voluntary.com and UnschoolingDads.com, Skyler is a husband and unschooling father of three beautiful children. His writings include the column series “One Voluntaryist’s Perspective” and “One Improved Unit,” and blog series “Two Cents“. Skyler also wrote the books No Hitting! and Toward a Free Society, and edited the books Everything Voluntary and Unschooling Dads. You can hear Skyler chatting away on his podcasts, Everything Voluntary and Thinking & Doing.