This topic was inspired by an event that happened some weeks ago during my field practical training, where I ended up staying in an apartment with my classmates as we worked on a big farm.
On one fateful day, we were walking back home after a stressful day at the farm. We usually split into smaller groups when we are going home, and that day we were 4; 2 girls and 2 boys. I and one of the girls were lagging behind because we were having fun making videos on Snapchat, while the two other people were walking in front of us.
(For anonymity purposes, I am going to use pseudo-names for the two girls involved in this story; Jessica and Ella)
At one point, I stopped at a store because I needed to buy water. As soon as the water arrived, the other girl; Jessica (who actually likes me but I usually feign ignorance) took all the water, gave one to the other boy, and ran off with the rest.
On a normal day, I would have run after her and pleaded with her to give me the water but I knew that's exactly what she wanted me to do, so I did the opposite; I bought two extra water for me and Ella! 😂 With the extra water I bought, there was no need for me to ask her for the ones she took, I was pissed off with what she did but I just kept quiet as I slowly plotted my revenge.
She obviously wanted my attention but I didn't play into her game, instead, I did the opposite of what she thought I would have done, and that got her pissed off. One thing most people don't know about me is that I love mind games, but I only play that trick when I notice the other person is trying to do the same, then it turns into a competition 😆.
Remember I said I was plotting my revenge? So, I decided to play my own game as well by using one particular emotion; jealousy. I gave Jessica space while I and Ella were at the back still having fun on Snapchat, and I occasionally bought snacks as we walked home.
Ella noticed that Jessica was moody and said I should go talk to her but I told her no, that she just wants attention and I am not going to give it to her. We continued walking home and at one point, Jessica approached me with her usual playful nature to ask for some of the snacks I was eating, and with a straight face, I told her no.
Well, that was it, she was definitely very angry at that point but I needed to pay her back for the water stunt she pulled earlier, and that was exactly what I did with the snacks. Her face suddenly changed when I said no and she said "don't talk to me for the rest of the day", and then she stormed off.
Later in the evening when we were all at home, she came to me and requested I accompany her to go buy something from a shop outside (the same person that said I shouldn't talk to her 😂). On the way to the shop, she was quiet so I asked her why she was that way (I already knew the answer) and then she said she was mad at me because of what happened earlier.
I reminded her that she started the whole thing when she ran off with my water and then she said she did that because she wanted to get my attention, I replied with "I know, but I wasn't in the mood". She also mentioned that she was jealous because I and Ella were having fun with Snapchat and leaving her out of it.
We finally settled all our issues that evening. I guess she learned her lesson, but she still pulled other crazy stunts some other days 😆. Most times it's better to break out of the usual chains of events and do something unpredictable, aside from it being a way to get out of a boring routine, it also helps in keeping us safe.
Let me give you a reason why I said it can keep us safe. As a security measure, it's a great idea to be unpredictable when it comes to the route we take when going home, especially for those that drive to and from work every day.
It's advisable to follow different routes randomly every day because it's a good way to confuse criminals that are planning to ambush you. If someone is planning on robbing you while going back home, he can easily do it if he knows you only take one route, but it becomes harder if your movement and timing are unpredictable.
Let's say today you go home following road one, then tomorrow you switch it up and drive through road four, then the next day you change it to road three, and you keep circling through different roads randomly. It won't totally keep you safe from the hands of criminals, but it's a good way to reduce the chances 😉
Unpredictability also works well in other aspects of our lives, as long as it involves us dealing with other humans, then there's a need to be unpredictable and do something unexpected. It is a good way for getting out of a manipulative situation as well as to take care of people playing mind games (just like what I did to Jessica and her water stunt).
Mind games only work when the person behaves exactly how you want them to, it's all about having control over how they think and react to all your actions, but you can't do that to someone that is unpredictable and does something you didn't plan for, right? 😉
Thanks for reading 💖💖💖
Saturday January 29, 2022
Good you played mind games with her so she can learn her lessons,we need to be unpredictable most times so people don't know the real us.