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Human interaction crutches prevent us from falling in weak moments. They keep us standing in tough times. Yet in the long term, those same human interactive crutches grip our identities and starve our success.

Human Interaction Crutches Starve Success. Image by Cavale Doom via Flickr.

Image by Cavale Doom via Flickr Creative Commons License.

5 Human Interaction Crutches That Trap & Starve Success

Most everyone has ways of coping with people especially in tough moments. These coping mechanisms give us balance and support.

On the other hand, human interaction crutches don’t provide balance. They are one-sided. They tip us one way and starve our success.

Human Interaction Crutches Weaken Us

• Stereotyping. Gender, racial, and age stereotyping twist reality. They are all ways to keep others away. However, stereotyping shows bias and weakness. This is not a path to success.

• Being smug and arrogant. The holier-than-thou attitude boomerangs every time. Being judgmental and sanctimonius shows insecurity. There is nothing balanced about that! Moreover, thinking we are better than others keeps us comparing and searching for validation. This stops us from seeing opportunities that match our greatness.

• Thinking like a victim. There are times when we are victims and must address it. This is especially true when someone is physically abused. Yet living a victim mentality traps us in fear. It is far better to picture ourselves using our energy and brainpower to build our futures. We have the ability to set limits with those who treat us badly. In the future, they will treat us with respect.

Human Interaction Crutches Delay Success

• Procrastinating. You may not see this as a human interaction crutch yet it is. Asking for what we need and want from others is part of building our success. Timing is everything. When we see someone who can help us and we procrastinate, we miss chances we may never have again.

• Assuming. As Henry Winkler said, “assumptions are the termites of relationships.” Assumptions feel safe. Yet they stop listening and skew thinking. This leads to bad decisions. Clarify assumptions. It frees us from the grip of this crutch.

Human interaction crutches are not helpful coping mechanisms. Our crutches hurt others and starve our own success. Like any crutch, they can weaken us if we rely on them forever. Develop emotional intelligence, self-confidence, and great people skills instead!

Related Posts:
Empathy & Humility: 3 Answers to Overcome Bias & Stereotyping
Gut Level Gratitude Defeats Your Insecurity
Does Avoiding Conflict Make You Seem Detached & Arrogant
Are You Unknowingly Showing Bias & Discomfort w/ Diversity?

©2018 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com for permission and guidelines. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

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Tags: Career, communication, crutch, emotional intelligence, fear, human, identity, inspiration, interaction, interpersonal skills, mistrust, obstacles, people skills, psychological, Soft Skills, success, trust