Life should not be lived through a series of mind games, but instead with truth and self-reflection.

For better or worse, many people have been raised to believe that communicating in an honest and open way will not get them what they want. Instead, they have learned to play mind games or go on power trips in the service of their ego’s agenda. People stuck in this outmoded and inefficient style of communication can be trying at best and downright destructive at worst. We may get caught up in thinking we have to play the same games in order to defend ourselves, but that will only lead us deeper into confusion and conflict. The best way to handle people like this is to be clear and honest with them.

As with all relationships and situations, we must look within for both the source of our difficulties and the solution. Reacting to the situation by getting upset will only entrench us more deeply in it. Only by disengaging, becoming still, and going within can we begin to see what has hooked us into the mess in the first place. We will most likely find unprocessed emotions that we can finally fully feel. The more we are able to do this, the less we will be bothered by the other person’s dramas, and the more we will be free to respond in a new way. In the light of our new awareness, the situation will untangle itself, and we will slowly break free.

Whenever people come into our lives, they have come for a reason — to show us something about ourselves that we have not been able to see. When unhealthy people try to hook us into their patterns with mind games and power trips, we can remind ourselves that we have something to learn and that a part of us is calling out for healing. This takes the focus off the troubling individual and puts it back on us, giving us the opportunity to change the situation from the inside out.