Repel or Attract??

I will admit that I enjoy playing a video game every now and again.  Ok...I play one at least once a day.  I actually enjoy this particular video game.  Why?  Well, if you have the sound up, you hear the "guy in the game" tell you "AWESOME" or "SWEET" or something that makes you feel like you did something good.  No wonder people enjoy that game.  We're always being told what a great job we're doing....even if we lose at that level.  We just keep clicking "retry" until we conquer that level.  (Side note - I have NEVER paid anything to keep playing. I simply wait until time has gone by and more lives are given to me).  There are a few games I don't like because either I'm not good at them or they don't "make me feel good" so I just avoid them.

That's kind of like people in our lives.  There are some that just make you feel like a better person after you've talked to them or spent time with them.  Then there are those that, well, that leave you feeling empty or spent.  Some people can just suck the life out of you.  It's almost a chore to be around them....you do it because it's what needs to be done but you're so glad when you're "done" being with them because now you can relax.

So, here's for some self reflection time - which one are you? 

Imagine you are a magnet.  Are you the side that attracts others to you or the side that repels them away from you?

Notice the first picture.....it's a magnet that others are attracted to.  The second one is of magnets that are repelling each other, thus the distance between them.


I have a friend that went through a bad break up a few years ago.  I was there for her when her heart was broken.  After a while I thought she would get "better" and become a happier person as time went on.  Well, it was months later and she had become very bitter.  All she ever talked about was how unhappy she was and how miserable life was for her.  It got to where I couldn't handle being around her.  She was so negative.  She was like the second magnet above...repelling me away from her.  I have another friend.  We are Facebook friends as well as "real life" friends.  I had to finally "un-follow" her on Facebook because her posts were so negative.  I just didn't like reading her posts because there was NOTHING good in them.  I always felt worse after reading ANYTHING on her page.  We are still friends but I just choose to stay away from her page.

Then there's this other friend.  I see her once or twice a year.  She is ALWAYS pleasant to be around.  I ALWAYS feel happy when I see her and spend time with her.  She seems to always have people in her life that enjoy being with her. Whenever we chat she tells me what she's been up to and it seems to usually involve being with other people.  She just seems to attract people to her.  She is like the first magnet.


I am married to a very smart and kind man.  He comes home from work frequently and tells me stories about things that happened to him at work that day.  Well, I give him MY advice on what I would do and what I think HE should have done, only to find out he's done just the opposite.  After hearing his "side" of the story I realize he handled it in such a way that the other person or people involved don't hate him or aren't mad at him.  If he were a magnet, they would still be "attracted" to him.  He doesn't repel people (usually).  Disclaimer:  I am married to a wonderful man but he is NOT perfect. Haha - don't walk away from this post thinking I'm married to a perfect man. :)  He has made it a point, when he's speaking with someone, to try to do a lot of asking of questions about the person he's talking with.  He wants to let that person know that they mean something....that they are important. He has told me on many occasions, "Deb, I ask myself -- did that person walk away from me feeling like a better person?"

With that said, this post is mainly for each of us to reflect upon the type of person we are or the type of person we want to become.  Are we the attracting magnet or the one that repels?  Do people walk away from us thinking, "I really enjoy being around her" OR "Gee, I hope I don't bump into her again"?

Take a moment and decide today how you can be a little better tomorrow.  It may not be instantly, but step by step, no matter how big or how small those steps may be, we can do better.  We can BE better tomorrow than we were today.

And remember, you are NEVER ALONE.....especially if you are "attracting" people to you!!

Much love,

Debbie