hummingwolf (
hummingwolf) wrote2003-01-13 09:22 am
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Hmm.
Not long ago there were reports of a study whose results indicated that people who frequently use the words "I," "me," and "my" are less happy than those who use these words less frequently. It seems that people who aren't thinking of themselves all the time are more cheerful than those who speak more in the first person.
In my case, many of the times I use the first-person terms, I use them to show that I realize that what's true for me isn't necessarily true for anyone else. Sure, here in the journal I talk about myself more than other people--this is my journal, after all. But in regular conversation, it looks to me that a lot of my self-references are indications that I understand that other people aren't always like me. Of course, my perceptions here could be off and I really am terribly self-absorbed.
In any event, now I'm wondering: Are people who don't speak much in the first person happier because they're less interested in themselves than they are in the amazing world around them, or are they happier because they have the luxury of assuming that everybody else is just like them?
In my case, many of the times I use the first-person terms, I use them to show that I realize that what's true for me isn't necessarily true for anyone else. Sure, here in the journal I talk about myself more than other people--this is my journal, after all. But in regular conversation, it looks to me that a lot of my self-references are indications that I understand that other people aren't always like me. Of course, my perceptions here could be off and I really am terribly self-absorbed.
In any event, now I'm wondering: Are people who don't speak much in the first person happier because they're less interested in themselves than they are in the amazing world around them, or are they happier because they have the luxury of assuming that everybody else is just like them?
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oh.. my.
that was an "I" statement.
goodness.
do you think i am self-absorbed?
(was that an "I" or a "you" statement?"
hmm...
heh.. does it count if you refer to yourself in first person in lower case all the time?
i don't think it does.
but then, i could just be too absorbed to notice..
*grin*
(seriously, i believe that most -with a few excpetions- happy people out there, the cheerfully happy ones, are just that because they are comfortable assuming they fit right in. i used to want that - alot. now, i am going for a higher level of difficulty in the happiness department - i want to be truely comfortable knowing that i completely different, and content to know that only one out of ten will ever understand what i am saying, and not all of those will care. heh)
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:oD
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be-longing
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I'm like you in my speech habits... I've gotten myself in a lot of trouble talking in generalisms, so I try not to anymore. That's why I say that I think like a nondualist and talk like an Otherkin, and therefore nobody ever understands what I'm saying. :)
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Sometimes I think I understand what you're saying, but I'm probably wrong. :-)
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As a friend of mine's motto says, "find your own truth."
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If someone never uses "I think" or "I like" I tend to feel that they want to separate themselves from what they're saying.
That's not really what you talked about though... *grins*
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possessive case and distance
I think I use the language to distance myself from the person I'm talking to, or rather to acknowledge the distance I feel. It feels like I'm getting to personal about my life sometimes if I'm using names, especially if I feel that the person doesn't have an active enough interest in my life to remember the names I use.
Other people may be trying to use the possessive to identify their life with other people, either to show how connected they are or to talk about lives they live vicariously. Possibly.
i only have 'i's for you
Re: i only have 'i's for you
Re: i only have 'i's for you
*grin*
Y'know, you have one the coolest interest lists.
Re: i only have 'i's for you
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It may be my large ego speaking though.
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