Two words that work well as one
Image was created using a collage app, and courtesy of the author, Henery X
Passive is being sympathetic, while being aggressive is not allowing anyone to take advantage of us because of it.-Henery X
Passive And Aggressive
Two Words That Work Well As One
2024, Henery X ©
pas.sive
adjective
accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance.
ag·gres·sive
adjective
ready or likely to attack or confront; characterized by or resulting from aggression.
Both definitions courtesy ofÂ
Dictionary
Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more
I share the dictionary version of someone’s opinion of the definition of words, not because I think you don’t already know. I share so you’ll be able to see the differences immediately.
First, a definition of a word is someone’s opinion. So, this means we're not obligated to agree with it. How did they draw their conclusion? Well, that’s anyone’s guess. I stopped guessing long ago, 28 years ago, to be exact. When I began my journey of self-discovery, my goal was to question everything, even my answers to the questions. I learned to look beyond the surface of situations, because one rarely finds the truth there. The deeper we’re willing to dive, the more things will begin to make sense.
In my questioning of everything, I concluded that the powers that be primary aim is to control every aspect of this human experience. I also concluded that their primary means of accomplishing this goal is through the definition of words. We determine whether to use a word based on how it is defined, as there is no other way for us to make this determination — or is there?
When I don’t like how a word has been described, I usually give it a different description via an acronym. But with this offering, I switched things up, giving you a different perspective to consider. Because though I stand behind, before, and on either side of everything I share, it’s still nothing more than my opinion with you. But because of you, it has the potential to be perceived as something more than just my opinion; it could be regarded as helpful advice. Only time will tell.
Being passive doesn’t mean we are push overs, on the contrary, it could mean that we’re compassionate to our fellow human beings’ hardships. Aggressive comes into play here because we won’t allow anyone to take advantage of us because of our good nature. We do what we can for as long as we feel we need to, and then we’ll move on about our life. Being aggressive means that we stand firm on decisions, regardless of what others may say, think, or do because of them.
If we tell someone no, we will do it in a firm but respectful manner. And if someone doesn’t want to respect our decision, we’ll walk away and rethink if it’s a good idea to allow this person to remain in our life. If a person doesn’t respect our decisions, this is a sign they want to change us. So, this means they don’t respect us for who we are or who we’re striving to become.
Passive is being sympathetic, while being aggressive is not allowing anyone to take advantage of us because of it. There’s only so much of ourselves we should give to others, seeing as we have ourselves to consider. We can’t do everything for everyone all the time, because what time would this leave us to love on ourselves? Telling people in the politest manner possible that we can’t do something is being passive. When we set boundaries and stand firm on our decisions, that’s being aggressive.
Saying what we mean without being overly aggressive, and meaning what we say without being blatantly passive, is being passive aggressive. And we don’t owe anyone an explanation for actions that don’t intentionally offend or cause physical harm.
When I began my journey of self-discovery, my goal was to question everything, even my answers to the questions. I learned to look beyond the surface of situations, because one rarely finds the truth there. The deeper we’re willing to dive, the more things will begin to make sense.-Henery X
Thank you for taking the time to acknowledge my offering.
And remember. I’m not here to convince you to believe. I’m here to offer you something else to consider.