Life, at times, can seem full of demands. Finding the right work/life balance is a very tricky thing, and it’s made trickier every time someone makes you feel like they need something from you. If you want to accomplish your goals, it’s important to weed time and energy vampires out of your sphere.
Here are some helpful things to remember when some rando tries to tell you they “need you” to resuscitate them by collapsing on the sidewalk.
“It’s not my fault that I am the only one here who knows CPR.”
CPR certification means you can help someone in need, not that you are obliged to. Maybe by diving in to help that unconscious victim, you are making the people around you think, “Hey, I don’t need to learn CPR because this person will always just pick up the slack!” News flash: You are not a welcome mat.
“This person is suffering physically. I am suffering emotionally.”
Just because we can see how a heart attack or choking victim is suffering does not mean you aren’t suffering just as much on the inside. You have enough on your plate and it’s OKAY to let that blue-faced stranger deal with their problems by themselves. Tend your own garden.
“I just can’t handle people today, and that’s okay.”
There is nothing wrong with being an introvert. Yes, you could save that stranger’s life with your skills, but then they will want to make small talk, and you can’t always do small talk. And that’s alright. Go home, ignore the pleas for help from the apparently untrained onlookers, and recharge your batteries. Tomorrow is a new day. For you, at least.
“They’re probably just tired.”
Some oldster decides to drop and take a nap on the sidewalk and all a sudden it’s all hands on deck? It’s hot today. They were probably just sleepy. If that’s the case, giving them CPR is the last thing they would want anyway.
“I’m going to be late for The Bachelor.”
Reality TV waits for no one. Samuell Becket once said that the tears and laughs of the world were in equal measure. Why swap your laugh for this stranger’s tear by saving their life and missing your favorite show? Don’t you deserve to be happy too?