Like

When I was younger, I wanted to be liked.  I think most people want to be liked.  It's part of growing up, we want to have friends and we want everyone to like us.  As we get older though we inevitably meet people we don't like, people who no matter what we do we just do not like.  It takes a little longer for us to realise that this is a two way street and that the same applies to others - namely that there will be people that do not like us.  No matter what we do, they will never like us.

One of the hardest things to learn is perhaps the ability to recognise people who we should avoid.  We all have first impressions of people that often grow as we see more of those people.  The problem with taking first impressions as the basis for how we treat someone, is that our first impressions are often wrong.  If you are in any way shy or reserved you will know from your own experience that you will find it hard to open up to people and that you will be acutely aware that the first impression you give others is not accurate.  People who are shy by nature are usually not shy at all around people they know and feel comfortable with.  Around these people they can be the exact opposite.

For those reasons the first impressions we experience are often judged and banked - whether good or bad we want to see more of that person before we form our conclusions.  How long it takes us to realise whether our judge of character was accurate will vary - not just between you and I but between people we meet - some people show their true colours sooner than others.

It's natural to want people to like you, and it's natural to want to like others.  After all we don't actively seek out conflict - unless you're a troll.  Accepting that some people just aren't worth it is something that is hard, because it goes against what we want - our desire to be harmonious.

When I was younger, I wanted to be liked, now that I have grown older and wiser I don't care whether people like me or not.  I treat people the way they treat me.  Be nice to me and I will be nice to you.  Be a cunt to me and I will be a cunt to you.  Do not play games with me because I am capable of more than you could ever know.  As the saying goes:

"It's the quiet ones you have to look out for"