Now Try Stomping Your Feet...

Thank you Bill Watterson!

Riddle me this...where is the line between a grown person asserting themselves and a grown person throwing an all-out tantrum?

This is crucial information I really need to obtain...and quick. A child whining for what they want I can handle. A child pulling the, "Give me what I want or I'll go tell on you" I can also handle. While tiresome, I find it generally subsides with a mention of, "Here kid, have a cookie." Order is maintained and all is right with the world.

An adult, however, is a horse of a different color entirely. I have learned a cookie does not work in this scenario...they tend to take the cookie, then another. Sadly, this does not subside the tantrum but gives more energy to sustain it. Don't get me wrong...I am all for each and every one of us advocating for ourselves and pursuing to obtain what is best for us and our families, assuming there is, of course, no harm or detriment to another. But I would like to think we as adults consider all aspects of the cause to determine if this is indeed a worthy endeavor to expend our energy.

Advocating for ourselves calls for calm, methodical thought and reason. One should have all facts in order and state them in a calm and mature manner. Mind you, this does not always assure things go our way. One can possess all the facts, statistics, precedents, and reason yet in the end be handed a justified explanation why what we seek just cannot, or should not, be. As an adult, this is when one should go back to the drawing board or realize our energy is better served elsewhere. 

Being a woman fed-up with self-entitled arrogance who tries to see all sides of the equation, I am at a loss when adults think yelling, whining, arguing, tattling, clenching fists, snide comments, and deprecation of others is a way of getting what one wants. The only methods left are holding one's breath and stomping one's feet a' la Veruca Salt style. The real struggle comes when this actually works for them and ~ voila! They have achieved their reward. 

So where is the line between assertion and tantrum? I'm at a loss...perhaps I'll try holding my breath until someone tells me.