A bulk of us is always going to want to believe that this world is filled with good people who are always well-meaning and sincere. We want to think that people are inherently good and that no one would ever want to deliberately hurt us. However, real life isn’t always going to be so cooperative.
We can’t be so naïve to believe that everyone in the world is always going to be on our side. We are all going to encounter a few fake and manipulative people every now and then.
We will meet people in our lives who will not want to do anything more than just wreak havoc in our souls. And that’s why it’s important that you always try to keep yourself guarded. You can’t allow yourself to be a victim. You must always protect yourself at all costs.
But how exactly do you go about something like that? It’s all a matter of staying smart and staying vigilant. Keep yourself informed of the common tactics and moves that these manipulative people use to try to victimize the ones around them. And if you notice that they are putting these moves on you, then you can try to put a stop to it. You never want to stay a victim.
1. They try to subtly demean you to try to undermine your confidence.
One of the most common tricks that are used by manipulators is emotional abuse. They will try to really undermine your confidence so that you will end up feeling emotionally weak and insecure. They do this because they know that you would end up wanting to cling to them because they would present themselves as a symbol of strength.
2. They pressure you into making decisions that you don’t want to make.
They force and rush you into making hasty decisions so that you don’t really get the time to think about it and whether it would benefit you or not.
3. They start off with small favors and they gradually hike it up to unreasonable demands.
They will try to ease their way into manipulating you. They will not start off big so as not to raise suspicions. They will slowly condition you with very small and seemingly simple favors. Then they will work their way up to some very unreasonable demands.
4. They uncharacteristically take a vested interest in your well-being.
It’s always weird when someone who is typically very cold and distant towards you suddenly takes a vested interest in your well-being.
5. They act seemingly dumb and unknowing.
They will try to feign ignorance. They know that human beings tend to be more trusting of people who act dumb and unknowing. But in reality, they are very smart and they know what they have to do to manipulate the people around them into doing what they want them to do. They are very Machiavellian in that sense. They will feign weakness but they are very dangerous.
6. They always try to play as the victim.
They will always try to portray themselves as the victim. They will want to make it seem like they’re the ones who are being used, abused, and harassed so that they take the pressure off themselves in the eyes of those who would believe them.
7. They act intimate with you so that you become comfortable with sharing too much.
They will be very sly by trying to make it seem like they are on your side. They will make you believe that you can believe in them and that they wouldn’t really do anything to hurt you. They will act all intimate with you in an effort for you to open up and spill the beans on whatever information they are trying to fish out of you.
8. They employ the silent treatment to get you to talk.
Any person who actually uses the silent treatment to get what they want is someone who is likely to be immature. You always have to stay away from this type of individual. Mature people always know how to use their words to settle an issue or to fix a problem. Mature people don’t shy away from having difficult discussions.
9. What to do when you are dealing with a manipulative person
And once you are knowledgeable of the signs, it can be very easy to spot insincere and manipulative people from even a mile away. In fact, it’s likely that you will start seeing them all over the place.
You have to be able to set boundaries in an effort to protect yourself. You have to make sure that you stand your ground against them. Let them know that you aren’t someone who can be so easily played with.
Make sure that they understand that you are intolerant of any kind of bad behavior and they will learn to just leave you alone. Remember that you are a human being and you are always going to deserve to be treated with utmost respect.
