Everyone seems eager to tell others that what they're doing is wrong.
"Don't you know that it's better to pay the minimums on your debt and invest the rest?"
"Why are you still renting? You should have bought a house by now… You're just throwing your money away!"
"You can't possibly know what you're talking about because it's not your job."
"You can't marry that person—it's totally immoral!"
Well, maybe there's a method to the madness…
Maybe you want those payments gone so you have total control over my income.
Maybe you're still renting because you don't know where you want to live yet. Or you don't have enough money to cover repairs if something major happened. Or—GASP— you want to pay cash for a house! And renting is just buying you time until you're ready. How crazy is that?
Or maybe you know exactly what you're talking about, and you understand THEIR point of view too. You simply don't want to live the same way as as them.
Here's a rule I think more of us should live by:
Unless my behavior affects you, you don't get to have an opinion about it.
And the magic of it? This works for everything.
If you don't approve of gay marriage, then don't do gay marriage yourself. But that doesn't give you the right to dictate someone else's lifestyle. Because their behavior doesn't affect you.
If you want to live a debt-free lifestyle, other people don't get to tell you you're an idiot because "that's just not normal."
And if you don't want to wear a helmet when driving on your motorcycle, you do you. Your behavior is only going to kill you…
On the other hand, you can't smoke in a restaurant or movie theater. Because your behavior affects my health, safety, and well-being.
You can't dump your toxic waste in our waterways… Because by definition, it's communal—it belongs to (and affects) everyone.
And you can't text and drive. "Well that's just my behavior – you can't tell me what to do." Actually, yes I can. Because while you're texting and driving, you might smash into me at 70 miles an hour.
You might be fine, but I'd still be dead.
So, the next time you feel the need to tell someone how wrong they are, ask yourself:
Does their behavior affect me?
If it does, say something.
If it doesn't, keep your mouth shut.
(Unless they're asking for your opinion, of course).
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