#defensiveness

Have we become so defensive that we cannot even tolerate a kind act? ↗

— Kyra Gregory

#angst #defensive #defensiveness #frustration #pain

Defensiveness is usually someone silently screaming that they need you to value and respect them in disguise. When you look for deeper meanings behind someone’s pain you can then begin to heal not only yourself but others. ↗

— Shannon L. Alder

#compassion #defensiveness #emotional-pain #forgiveness #anger

Often, vegan advocates assume that a person's defensiveness is the result of selfishness or apathy, when in fact it is much more likely the result of systematic and intensive social conditioning. ↗

— Melanie Joy

#animal-advocates #animals #apathy #defensiveness #social-condition

It's often a bad sign when people defend themselves against charges which haven't been made. ↗

— Christopher Hitchens

#defensiveness #noam-chomsky #september- #iraq

Defend myself? I cannot defend the verbal repressions of a boy. A curmudgeonly, cantankerous, ill-tempered, counterfeit boy. ↗

— Coco J. Ginger

#defensiveness #jamie-weise #love #love-story #silence

Laine had been very proud of herself last night. Nicholas had talked about ghosts and magic and woven a bit of a spell himself. He'd sounded so convincing, so logical, so sad, that she'd found herself wanting to believe him. But testing prods at his argument had made him angry, and long years with Gavin had taught her that angry, defensive people shared the lousy habit of being wrong. ↗

— Stephen M. Irwin

#charisma #conning #defensiveness #pride #supernatural

The greatest thing I learned while taking classes at Second City was the very first thing they taught: 'Yes, and...'. In improv, you keep scenes alive but accepting whatever you are given and then adding to it or amplifying it. There is no space on stage for 'No,' 'I'm sorry, you're mistaken,' or 'Yes, but...'. Those transitions kill energy, set up interpersonal conflict, engage the ego in a defensive posture, and stymie the flow of conversation onstage. ↗

— Jason Seiden

#defensiveness #good-advice #improv #interpersonal-communication #interpersonal-relationships

I stopped hating and started just being. My whole life, I had been the most defensive person you'd meet, unable to tolerate any criticism. But now I started listening and being. ↗

— Anthony Kiedis

#defensiveness #listening #life

Everyone these days was defensive about their lives. Everyone had settled. ↗

— Lorrie Moore

#people-today #settling #life