Do you know anyone who believes everything is out of their control and everyone is conspiring against them? Do you find yourself worn out seeing them unsatisfied all the time? Perhaps they are playing the victim.
Reversals, disappointments, and pains are a natural part of life’s mystery. How you approach these failures will decide how content you are with your life. Although you have no influence over your environment, you do have control over how you react to it.
But, too often, we allow our psyche to control our lives. We become prisoners of our own minds and victims of our own circumstances. In this episode, I’ll review a few telltale signs to help you recognize if you or someone you know are playing the victim so we can better understand what a victim mindset is. It’s a common perspective that we all can get stuck in, which can be really damaging. I will teach you seven techniques to eliminate the victim mentality.
How Do you Know Someone is Playing the Victim?
Those who are “playing the victim” frequently experience some form of dysfunction or issue in their lives. They adore venting about their issues to get sympathy and support from others. They update their sob tales constantly on Facebook, which they regard as their best friend. The trouble is, no matter how much support or sympathy they’re given, their difficulties NEVER stop!
Genuinely struggling people are typically quite picky about who they confide in about their issues. They frequently hold back and remain more private. They frequently reserve asking for assistance until the most terrible of circumstances. I am aware of this.
If you remain in the past, you will only continue to think like and play the victim in the present.
John R. Miles
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Listen Notes, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube below.
Enjoy!
What I Discuss In This Episode About Playing the Victim
In this Momentum Friday episode, I’ll explain what causes us to play the victim, why we develop a victim mentality as a coping mechanism, how to recognize we or others have a victim mindset, ways to overcome this mentality, and how to escape being a prisoner of your own mind.
By nature, nobody is a victim. Playing the victim is not a psychological feature but rather a learned behavior. Most of the time, those with victim mentalities go through trauma or difficult situations without developing better coping skills. In fact, this is referred described by psychologists as “learned helplessness,” a condition in which people who have experienced terrible events feel helpless to get out of their predicament.
Disclaimer: If someone is truly in a victim mindset, it’s crucial to use your best judgment. Some people experience difficulties that are real, even though they are difficult to comprehend. This episode aims to raise awareness of a topic that could be exploited to harm and manipulate others, not to discount or minimize the worth of others’ experiences.
I will delve into the following topics on playing the victim:
- Why do you play the victim
- The story of a young man who was playing the victim
- How do you develop a victim mentality?
- Why a victim mindset comes with an arsenal of excuses
- Six symptoms of a victim mentality.
- Seven steps to break free of a victim mindset
- How to not be the prisoner of your own mind
- Have any questions, comments, or stories you’d like to share with us? Drop us a line at [email protected]m!
- Connect with John R Miles on Twitter at @John_RMiles and Instagram at @John_R_Miles
Questions For You And Your Friends Or Family Members To Discuss What it Means to Play the Victim
- Why is it important to recognize if someone is displaying a victim mentality?
- What are some of the signs when someone has a victim mindset?
- Why is it natural to use this mentality as a coping skill?
- Who was Sean Stephenson?
- What will you do to avoid being a prison of your mind?
- How will you apply today’s episode to your life?
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Resources From The Show On Playing the Victim
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Transcript from the episode: https://johnrmiles.com/victim-mentality-stop-playing-the-victim/
- My episode on why we need to take responsibility for our lives: https://passionstruck.com/podcast/why-we-fail-to-take-responsibility/.
- My podcast about how our beliefs shape our reality: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/passion-struck/why-we-become-what-we-think-huISrA0tM6o/
- My interview with Seth Godin on why we need systems to change to save the planet and address climate change: https://passionstruck.com/seth-godin-we-need-systems-change-save-planet/.
- My interview with Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman and Dr. Jordan Feingold on Choosing Growth and transcending self-doubt, fear, and anxiety: https://passionstruck.com/jordyn-feingold-scott-barry-kaufman-chose-growth/
- My interview with NYU Stern School of Business Professor Scott Galloway on Why America is Adrift: https://passionstruck.com/scott-galloway-america-is-adrift/
- My solo episode on why micro choices matter: https://passionstruck.com/why-your-micro-choices-determine-your-life/
- Why would someone play the victim if they’re the ones attacking and insulting you while you literally remain patient and ignore them the majority of the time?
- How do you tell whether someone is a good person or is just faking it?
- How do I handle someone who loves to play the victim?
- What is the meaning of “playing the victim card”?
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About John R. Miles
John R. Miles is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO and founder of Passion Struck. This full-service media company helps people live intentionally by creating best-in-class educational and entertainment content. John is also a prolific public speaker, venture capitalist, and author named to the ComputerWorld Top 100 IT Leaders.
John is the host of the PassionStruckPodcast. The show focused on exploring the mindset and philosophy of the world’s most inspiring people to learn their lessons to living intentionally. Passion Struck aspires to speak to the humanity of people in a way that makes them want to live better, be better and impact.
Stay tuned for John’slatest project, his upcoming book, which will be published in 2023.
Learn more about me: https://johnrmiles.com