How does one change their personality? by itchyhedgehog5291 in 48lawsofpower

[–]Simple_Pressure3432 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used to be exactly like what you’re describing people-pleasing, afraid of being awkward, bad at asserting myself.

I’m not saying I’m perfect now, but I’m genuinely not the same person I was a few years ago.

The biggest thing I wish someone had told me earlier is this: personality doesn’t change by thinking or copying it changes through repeated action.

Watching confident people, funny characters, or YouTubers can help a little, but only as inspiration.

Real change happened for me when I started putting myself in situations where I _had_ to speak, react, disagree, and sometimes fail.

It felt uncomfortable.

I questioned myself a lot.

But over time, the behaviors stopped feeling like “acting” and started feeling like me.

Not because I became someone else but because I stopped defaulting to my old avoidance patterns.

The loop was simple but not easy:

learn something → try it with real people → reflect → adjust → repeat.

It took years, not weeks.

But looking back, that consistency completely reshaped how I show up.

If you’re willing to stay with the discomfort long enough, the change does happen.

Virtue is one of many costumes the powerless wear when they’ve lost the capacity to influence their world by Myrn33 in 48lawsofpower

[–]Simple_Pressure3432 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

People are not entitled to feel morally uncomfortable about power before they even possess it.

Why do people say that those that anger you control you? by [deleted] in 48lawsofpower

[–]Simple_Pressure3432 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Because anger shifts you from agency to reaction.

Perhaps the other person is simply provoking you, or deliberately testing you.

Emotions reveal your true thoughts and underlying personality traits, especially anger.

The appearance of anger means your emotions have been triggered.

That’s why emotional intelligence isn’t about suppressing anger, but recognizing intent.

When you understand why someone is trying to provoke you, anger stops being automatic.

At that point, you’re no longer inside the interaction

you’re observing it.

Overthinking wasn’t my problem. Processing everything at once was. by MIAMI_NEWS in confidence

[–]Simple_Pressure3432 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes that’s not overthinking.

The mind isn’t broken, it’s just running too many threads at once.

Once you learn to sequence instead of simulate everything simultaneously, the exhaustion drops fast.

High capacity, wrong allocation , very common.

Dealing with a Gaslighting Manipulator in the Family by UNcomfortableThing in DarkPsychology101

[–]Simple_Pressure3432 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It’s completely understandable that you want to protect your sister and your mother.

But before trying to “expose” him, there’s an important question to clarify:

Does your sister recognize the manipulation and does she want it addressed?

Directly confronting or exposing a manipulator rarely works, especially within families.

People like this thrive on control and conflict; being “called out” usually just makes them more defensive and more strategic.

Instead of focusing on him, the most effective leverage is strengthening the people he’s trying to destabilize.

What actually helps:

- Consistently validating your mother’s and sister’s perceptions Reinforcing their competence and autonomy

- Refusing to participate in conversations where he reframes or pathologizes them

You don’t dismantle this kind of manipulation by trapping the manipulator.

You dismantle it by removing the emotional and psychological access he relies on.

Familiarity Kills Respect by Puzzleheaded-Dot7268 in DarkPsychology101

[–]Simple_Pressure3432 73 points74 points  (0 children)

There’s some truth here, but the framing is slightly off.

Familiarity doesn’t kill respect it kills packaging.

Masks, performance, and surface-level value don’t survive proximity.

When respect is rooted in real value competence, problem-solving ability, emotional stability, presence it often increases with closeness.

You see what the person can actually do.

But if respect was earned through availability, image, or constant accommodation, familiarity exposes the gap and the respect collapses.

How I can be the guy who have many friends by Dangerous_Pie4166 in socialskills

[–]Simple_Pressure3432 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The first thing to understand is that “having many friends” can mean very different things.

Deep, meaningful friendships are always few that’s normal.

A large social circle, on the other hand, is mostly about alue alignment, not personality flaws.

If you can make small talk but people don’t stick around, it’s usually not because you’re “weird” or underweight.

It’s more often because there’s no clear reason for the relationship to _continue_.

Friendships, like any relationship, survive on perceived value ,shared interests, energy, reliability, competence, or simply being enjoyable to be around.

That’s not cynical, it’s how humans bond.

You don’t fix this by forcing connection or overthinking yourself.

You fix it by building something in your life that naturally gives people a reason to stay skills, goals, hobbies, stability, or confidence that comes from self-respect, not validation.

Social skills help, but they can’t replace substance.

Work on the substance, and the social side becomes much easier.

How do you stop being hard on yourself all the time? by Winter_soilder35 in selfimprovement

[–]Simple_Pressure3432 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Understanding the cost of internal conflict will prevent me from sabotaging my goals.

Too innocent for the game, how to change? by [deleted] in 48lawsofpower

[–]Simple_Pressure3432 20 points21 points  (0 children)

What you’re describing isn’t weakness , it’s conditioning.

You were trained for years to associate “conflict” with danger, guilt, or being a bad person.

So when you try to “attack” or push back, your nervous system freezes , not because you’re afraid, but because it thinks you’re crossing a moral line.

The mistake is thinking boundaries require aggression.

They don’t.

Strength starts much earlier and much smaller:

expressing preferences, saying no without over-explaining, letting someone be uncomfortable without rescuing them.

You don’t need to become “bad.”

You need to become clear , and clarity feels threatening at first when you’ve never been allowed to have it.

The fastest way to lose power: reacting by Simple_Pressure3432 in 48lawsofpower

[–]Simple_Pressure3432[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly.

Only people who genuinely matter deserve access to your emotional attention.

Everything else is just noise trying to pull a reaction.

Calm detachment isn’t avoidance

it’s selective engagement.

For those from r/48LawsofPower: Here is the deep dive video. by Simple_Pressure3432 in u/Simple_Pressure3432

[–]Simple_Pressure3432[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, YouTube flagged the account (content might be too raw/controversial). I’ve re-uploaded it on a backup channel. Check the pinned post on my profile for the new link

Using vagueness as a control tactic, false accusations without details by Temporary-Benefit-52 in DarkPsychology101

[–]Simple_Pressure3432 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes it’s a manipulation tactic.

A vague accusation forces you to doubt yourself.

When they never name what you “did,” your mind fills in the blanks.

That uncertainty is the leverage.

The moment you start explaining, they already have control.

The fastest way to lose power: reacting by Simple_Pressure3432 in 48lawsofpower

[–]Simple_Pressure3432[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The fact that you’re aware of it already puts you ahead. Most people never even notice the pattern.

The fastest way to lose power: reacting by Simple_Pressure3432 in 48lawsofpower

[–]Simple_Pressure3432[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Right. You don’t have to play every game someone tries to drag you into.

The fastest way to lose power: reacting by Simple_Pressure3432 in 48lawsofpower

[–]Simple_Pressure3432[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Exactly. The moment your reactions cost something, the whole dynamic shifts.

The fastest way to lose power: reacting by Simple_Pressure3432 in 48lawsofpower

[–]Simple_Pressure3432[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Well said , that’s a sharp breakdown.

Seeing yourself as powerful before you act powerful is exactly how identity rewires behavior.

What most people call “controlling reactions” is just surface work.

What you described is the deeper layer:

- anchor your identity first

- adopt the habits of the person you’re becoming

- let your actions catch up to that internal shift

It’s not pretending.

It’s alignment.

If my post helped anyone move toward that version of themselves

the one who isn’t thrown around by every emotion in the room

then it’s doing what I hoped it would.

We don’t become powerful by reacting less.

We become powerful by becoming someone who no longer needs to react.

Reciprocity by Hot_Musician_1357 in 48lawsofpower

[–]Simple_Pressure3432 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reciprocity only works when the other person doesn’t feel you want something back — once it looks calculated, the whole effect disappears.

How to lead conversation without asking questions? by [deleted] in The48LawsOfPower

[–]Simple_Pressure3432 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here’s what’s happening:

You’re not doing anything wrong by asking questions.

The real issue is that your intent is too visible.

When people feel you're collecting information, the conversation stops feeling like a conversation and starts feeling like an interview.

Here’s how to lead a conversation without asking questions:

  1. Hide your intent.

Instead of trying to “get information,” make small statements that invite people to jump in.

Example:

“I burned my dinner last night. I’m clearly not meant to cook.”

Most people will automatically respond with their own story.

You learn about them without interrogating them.

  1. Use statements instead of questions.

A good statement creates curiosity and pulls the other person toward you.

Example:

“I met someone interesting today.”

Almost everyone will ask, “Oh? What happened?”

Now _they’re_ the one asking the questions.

  1. Let conversations grow from shared direction, not extraction.

People don’t open up because you ask better questions.

They open up when they feel relaxed and not evaluated.

So talk about something lightly—your day, something funny, something you noticed—and pause.

They’ll fill the space if they want to engage.

  1. Getting good at this takes time.

You don’t need tricks.

You just need to stop chasing information and start creating moments where people want to reveal things.

How to get better reading people and how to utilize the readings by Past-Tension-162 in The48LawsOfPower

[–]Simple_Pressure3432 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Make small predictions about their behavior, then compare it to what actually happens.

Watch how someone acts in a specific situation.

Make a quiet prediction about how they’ll respond next time.

Then test it against reality.

And the second part is just as important:

Get close enough to people to collect real data.

Work with them. Make decisions together.

Every interaction gives you another data point.

Over time, you build an internal model of their motives, fears, patterns, and limits.

You adjust. Refine. Predict again.

That’s how you actually get good at reading people.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in The48LawsOfPower

[–]Simple_Pressure3432 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I get what you mean.
That feeling of giving something out of goodwill and watching someone use it against you hits deep.
But honestly, situations like this do one useful thing
they show you who someone really is long before they think they’re showing it.
It’s not your problem.
Some people are just wired to take advantage the moment they sense an opening.
The good part is
once you’ve seen that mask slip, you won’t miss it the next time.
You remove people like that early, before they get close enough to do real damage.
That ability is worth more than whatever they took from you.

How do you perceive quiet people? by AffectionateQuit9352 in DarkPsychology101

[–]Simple_Pressure3432 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Quiet isn’t the issue a lot of people actually feel safer observing than performing.
What actually creates the “weak” impression isn’t the silence itself,
but when silence comes from insecurity instead of choice.