What Did You Say??

If you have ever spent any time actively listening to people, you have probably asked yourself at least one time if they know what they are saying. That may seem like a weird question to pose, especially when someone has just uttered the words, but it becomes more and more relevant based on the amount of people that you speak with. Socio-economic status, age, gender, ethnicity, location are all classifications that have little bearing on the invocation of the question.

With some people, I would venture to say that saying stupid stuff is a way of life. We all know that person who does it on a regular basis. If you can catch yourself, you may find that you are holding your breath as they begin to talk. If you don’t know anyone who says stupid stuff all of the time…..then you are probably that person.

Still there is another sss (saying stupid stuff) virus that travels from person to person throughout the day. We are all infected at some point. It’s an airborne virus and there is no known cure. The maturation of the parasite has been known to affect a person mid-thought. On some occasions it skips conversations of the absurd and only rears its ugly head when it is time to talk seriously. Honestly, we are all probably just recovering from an episode of sss or just about to find out that we have been exposed to the bug.

If we accept the previous thoughts to have any validity at all, a logical question may be, “Who is worse?” Ahhhh…good question, but if we look a little deeper, that answer is not really important. Remember there were only two groups of sss candidates. The ones who live like that, and all the rest of us. We all have been or will be afflicted with this horrible disease. The better question is: How do I deal with those afflicted? Because we already know that the virus is rampant, we can only look to our response for survival.

I can’t give you everything, because life is much more than black and white and straight lines and right angles. I can give you two solid steps to deal with it.

Step 1: Take Your Vitamins (give it a sec)
When you encounter an infected person and they begin to spew nonsense, give it a sec. This has the same effect as taking vitamins to boost up your immune system. This particular virus needs warm, moist air to thrive, and arguing with someone who has sss provides the perfect climate for gestation. Think of the brief moment you take to process the information as the moment when the white blood cells of your intellect attack the source of the dreaded sss virus. One thing your body needs to fend off an attack is time to launch defense. That’s what that second is. It’s the time when you look at a person, recognize they are saying stupid stuff, and then choose the treatment you are going to administer. Only choose the medicine after you have accurately diagnosed the problem. Sometimes people are not infected with sss. They could be angry, hurt, or scared. These emotions sometimes mirror the symptoms of sss so you must be careful in the diagnostic process.

Step 2: Medicate (respond)
Once sss has been accurately diagnosed, a treatment regimen must be established. Notice that step 2 is to medicate and not necessarily to administer it to someone else. You may find that in the midst of everything, you are the one currently infected. It’s ok… The response to sss needs to be determined by the severity of the infection. A slightly infected person may tell silly lies to gain the attention of a crowd. Laughter and funny looks will suffice for the subject. A mildly infected person will say things that make them look dumb. Laughter and funny looks are good, you may have to pull them to the side and talk about it. One who is losing the battle with sss will lie about you to other people for no apparent reason. This may trigger your own battle with sss. Be careful! These carriers must be met with a dose of medicine to knock sss into remission. The truth is a good remedy. Those with full blown sss will say things to your face that are meant to hurt you. The regimen for these severely infected persons has yet to be determined...

The truth about it is…… there are always going to be people around you infected with the saying stupid stuff virus. The truly important issue is how you deal with it.