First off, I want everybody to admit something here right now.

We’ve all been played at one point in our life.

We’ve all dealt with manipulators.

We’ve all dealt with people that were not well.

I know I’ve been played. I’ve had people in my life that have played me. I’ll admit it. As smart as I am, and wise as I am, I’ve still been played. And it sucks. Especially when you’re generous to somebody and that person really could care less about you. When you find out about the things they’ve said behind your back, and you were generous to them, it kind of makes you feel stupid.

It also makes you angry. Think about when you’ve been manipulated and you’ve been played. Think about how angry you’ve become.

There’s a person in my life that I’ve been super generous to, and I caught wind on some of the stuff they were saying. And I felt angry. And I thought and recognized the manipulation that was going on. This person is not the person that they appear to other people. And that’s usually what these people are all about. They’re usually not what they appear. They’re really good in the beginning of a relationship. They know exactly how to put on their game face. They’re wonderful around other people. Everybody thinks they’re sweet and they’re nice and they’re charming.

But they’re not. It’s just who they’ve chosen to be. That is how they play people.

That’s why, in dating, I think it always pays to ask around for references.

Because there are some people out there who are just not good people.

They’re all about themselves. They manipulate people. They use their children. They use whatever they can to get their way. They create an entire story based on getting their way.

They’ve got to get their way no matter what.

I was getting played, and it didn’t make me happy at all. As a matter of fact, it made me angry. It made me more disappointed in myself, but obviously there was a lesson that I needed to learn.

And it’s okay. Because once you learn that you’ve been manipulated, and you have to deal with that person again, you’re actually one step ahead of them. You can literally predict the games that they’re going to play.

I know the person in my life that manipulated me, I know when I have to deal with that person, I see their games unfold in black and white right in front of me. I can almost predict what they’re going to do. I can almost predict what they’re going to say.

Because that’s the beauty of growing and getting past it.

You see, they still think they can manipulate you, because manipulators don’t change their game at all.

It’s the same game over and over again because that’s all they know. Their life is based on fear.

So they don’t know that you’re one to two steps ahead of them. They have absolutely no idea. They still think their shit is going to work. And it doesn’t. Once you’ve been manipulated, and once you’ve been played, you get smart.

You allow the person to think that they’re still playing you.

But in reality, you stop reacting to the things you used to react to.

And you write down ahead of time what is going to happen, so then when they play you, you don’t react to it. You’re already prepared for it. It’s easy once you understand just how simple and fearful a manipulator is.

I feel for all of you. We’ve all been played. The question is, has the manipulator been played? Or are they always just trying to manipulate? Hmmmm. Something to ponder today.