If you don’t want anyone to get your goat, don’t let them know where you have it tied.
One of the very early lessons we determined to teach our daughters was how to be teased. Yes, I know that might not rank high on the typical;list of priorities, but we knew that is they see their parents teasing each other in a positive way and laughing at ourselves, and if we tease them and let them tease us, they would enter school tease-proof. Let’s face it, the worse a child reacts to teasing, the more she will be picked on.
I wrote about this in The Daily Dose of Happiness eight years ago, and based on how freely they will tease us, we haven’t totally failed. They keep chasing our goats.
Teasing does not go away as an adult; it just gets subtler. It is never to late to hide your goat. (For those who have read Climb your Stairway to Heaven, you may be thinking of hiding your goat with a sheep down a well, but that’s another story.)
The next time you are teased, try laughing with the teaser. It can be a very liberating experience.
I learned that at an early age, as well. Not because I was taught it- but as a defense/offense mechanism against the perpetrator.
If they were trying to torment you and you were laughing at the effort, they either get more incensed (at their incompetence) or decide to choose another target…
Like the analogy of the goat. One thing for sure, adults are even more viscous than children. It still comes down to what you take personally. Other people’s opinions are still only their opinion and they are only true if you let them be true. Thnaks David
True, Roberta. Other people’s opinions are not what should count.
Great post, David! You are so right about the need to roll with the punches. It seems like the instant that you let them know that they get to you, they’ll just go after you even more.
My dad was/is the ultimate teaser! I used to love his teasing because it was his way of showing affection. Now he teases my daughter and she gives it right back to him! Thanks for a great post!