Quote:
Originally Posted by pachyderm
I don't see that as being necessarily true at all. An "I" statement reflects your ability to feel that you are worth stating something directly, and are able to understand and take ownership of your own feelings and thoughts. It does not depend on others' willingness to show "compassion" at all, rather your own willingness and ability to cope with whatever reaction the other person comes up with.
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Thanks for picking up on this pachyderm,
it occured to me after I'd written this that this point was a bit of an over-simplification, so I'm quite pleased in a way that you picked up on this.
I think that your points are right. We are not dependent on others' willingness to show us compassion in order to be able to make "I" statements, and this is not the only circumstance under which it is good to use them. But I think it is also fair to say that there may be circumstances in which what we are hoping for IS to be shown compassion and understanding.
In those circumstances it may be unwise for us to make "I" statements if such compassion is unlikely to be forthcoming.