On Manipulation

Manipulation is a way to control and direct others to have a certain desired behavior.

Some reasons for manipulation is lack of effective communication, lack of awareness and lack of honesty.

Some tactics used for manipulation are:

If we are not conscious, we all will participate in such manipulative games.

If we are conscious and have a sense of who we are, then impact of such tactics are minimum on us.

As children we may be ‘directed’ by fear, shame or guilt for own protection. As adults same may apply.

What can we do in this regard?

The only way to improve things is to start with ourselves.
Contemplate on how much you may manipulate others and through what means.
Contemplate through what mechanism you are most likely to be manipulated (fear, shame, praise…).
Only give and share when you have no agenda. This means you do not have fixed expectation of correcting other people’s behavior to your own liking.

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