One of the worst pieces of advice I have ever gotten: “Ignore.”
This is a part of the New Age toxic positivity. Gurus say, “Ignore… Don’t feed negativity with your attention…” And people now afraid to look at anything negative. They believe that by acknowledging something bad they will attract more of it. So, they turn away from everything that might upset or scare them.
If you have an infectious abscess, it will not disappear on its own. You can’t get rid of the infection by looking away and pretending that it isn’t there. You have to pay attention to it, take appropriate measures to disinfect the wound, protect it, heal it. Keep ignoring, and even the smallest abscess can spread the infection through the entire body and threaten your life.
So, why do we think that by ignoring unfair treatment, manipulations, bullying, or abuse we can make it disappear?
No, thank you. Ignoring something doesn’t make it go away, it doesn’t make it better, it doesn’t make it right. Whatever comes to your attention needs to be addressed not ignored. Becoming willfully blind to problems makes you a coward. Taking a “high road” makes you a coward that pretends to be a better person. Ignoring leads to willful ignorance.
Every situation is a lesson. Life will present the same lesson over and over until you learn and pass the test. Deal with problems right then and right there instead of having them sneaked up on you again in the worst possible moment.
Stop ignoring. Pay attention to everything!
