Somebody or something whispers a lie in your ear and screws you all up -so then you tell yourself your own lie to straighten out the wrinkle emotionally. And as it turns out, your lie was not too much of a lie after all. And it definitely did the trick anyways -it got you back on track emotionally. 🙆‍♂️ My friend Lenelle used to tell her self stuff all the time… Things that for example would piss me off…. Like people running a stop sign in front of me at the 4 way? She would tell herself things like maybe they have to go to the bathroom. Maybe their wife’s having a baby… Maybe there breaks one out… She would tell herself things just to diffuse the situation.

Some people are very good at diffusing a situation. Many more are not. If I’m pissed about something as a customer… And I get on the phone with a representative or I go back to the store and deal with an employee…. And my anger and frustration are only increasing… that employee or representative is practicing escalation rather than diescalation -because even if the employee or representative cannot resolve the issue, the fact that they are showing empathy or not showing empathy; the fact that they are showing a great interest in resolving my issue or not showing a great interest in resolving my issue; the fact that they themselves are calm and respectful or not calm and not respectful… All these things add up to the direction in which my mood goes. True story