Lit Quote Thursday: Manipulation

"Sometimes a manipulator's own ends are simply the actual disruption of the ward for the sake of disruption. There are such people in our society. A manipulator can influence the other patients and disrupt them to such an extent that it may take months to get everything running smooth once more."

As very few of you probably know, I am currently reading Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. This novel centers on mental hospitals in a time where there was need for reform. This particular quote from the novel  concerns a new patient that has a very particular personality. This quote is one nurse speaking to another regarding the new patient's first actions upon entering the ward.

Yes, there are people like this in the society of a mental hospital but there are also people like this in societies outside the padded walls of those being watched and nursed. Also, I feel that each individual has a manipulator within themselves. The manipulator of frustration.

Maybe I am the only one out there who does this, but whenever I get frustrated, I throw my hands up and just act and make decisions wildly. Although I don't drink, there are many instances where I would have gone to the bottle simply to have an excuse to lose control or an excuse to have no competency.

How often do we make rash decisions in a moment of frustration that then take time to recover from? Our disruption, distraction, and deviation from our standard actions can cause instability for longer than intended.

We must always recognize that we always have control over our actions and decisions. Though frustration happens, our God-given agency allows us to act in accordance with our true beliefs. This quote is bringing me to a greater awareness of the consequences of my own rash actions and bringing me to a determination to not take rash actions. This does not mean I won't take action, but simply that my actions will be deliberate and for a purpose...not simply for disruption of the norm.

Don't be your own manipulator.

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