Mere Christianity – C. S. Lewis (1952)
There is a lot to be said for being the nice guy, the one that will bend over backwards to help others and put themselves second best when it comes to doing things others ask of them. However, unfortunately there are a lot of people out there that manage to manipulate others through disguised bullying, the laying on of guilt trips and by generally taking advantage of someone’s good nature.
Then there are another kind of manipulators … the ones that are so passionate about what they do that they cannot understand why everyone else is not as driven to move heaven and earth for the cause, no matter how inconvenient or impractical the situation is. In my experience, these people often have underlying mental issues of their own, and as a result have a one-track mind about getting things done when they dictate it and in the way they envisage is the only outcome. When no amount of reasoning makes any difference, and once all else has failed it is then that you often have no option but to walk away. Sometimes there is just a need for a cooling-off period or for them to have time to digest and re-evaluate the situation, or maybe even to let them pursue the issue until they realise that their strategy is impossible but other times the consequences can be too great and the bridge is never mended.
These type of people will continue in this way with everyone whilst the ones caught in the cross-fire become a little less accommodating and a little harder against getting hurt from then on.