To do this Dr. Wayne W. Dyer encourages others to think for themselves and if necessary become rebellious.
Each chapter offers guidelines on how to stop allowing others to pull their strings. There are practical steps for overcoming victim habits with quizzes included.
Pulling Your Own Strings gives easy to understand specific strategies on how to get out of victim habits. There are examples of real life situations with new ways to respond to attempts at manipulation.
- Becoming aware that victimization is taking place is the first step but it is not enough. Next is to change attitudes and expectations. There are a set of principles and strategies that guide people into acting out on their non-victim status.
Being Victimized by Your Past
One of the biggest ways people allow themselves to be victimized is by their past. Frequently people will tell others how they should have done something differently or even how they should feel about an event. Since the past can’t be changed, the only use for this statement is for inducing guilt.
- People can victimize themselves with the past. This is one of the most useful chapters urging others to purge bad memories and forgive others. Not doing so is only hurting the person holding the grudge.
Take Action
Action is the simplest solution offered continuously throughout the book. People teach others how they want to be treated through their actions. Constant gut wrenching conversations may feel like much has been purged but often the same results will follow without action.
Taking action is also a simple way to treat depression and confront fears. When people get busy doing things they enjoy, they’re usually no longer depressed.
Perseverance
Perseverance is one of the most important ways to avoid being victimized. Many bank on others giving in or giving up and that’s how they continue to victimize and manipulate.
- Other issues are addressed in chapters such as Avoiding the Comparison Trap, Becoming Quietly Effective, Not Expecting “Them” to Understand, Never Place Loyalty to Institutions and Things Above Loyalty to Yourself, Distinguishing Judgments and Reality and Being Creatively Alive in Every Situation. The last chapter is entitled Victim or Victor. It includes one hundred situations with a victim or a non-victim response. It’s useful because it shows alternatives to typical victim responses.
Pulling Your Own Strings, Dr. W. Wayne Dyer, Harper and Row Publishers, 1979-1994, ISBN #006109224X is a timeless classic self-help book that empowers others with practical strategies on how to stop being a victim.
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer has authored 30 books on self-development, many which have become National Public Television Specials. See Dr. Wayne W. Dyer’s website for more information about his books, appearances, videos and products.
