You know the feeling. You’re at your favorite restaurant after a hard day of work, about to sit down to a killer meal when your political obsessed friend starts in with their latest opinion piece. The minute they open their mouth with the ideal variation of decreasing health care in America, your other friend slaps back with why medical needs are not justified monetarily enough already. Before you know it, the whole table is in a politics standoff ready for a battle to the death. Personally, I just sit back and enjoy my food while everyone else’s gets cold. Here are a few tips to keep you from stabbing your dinner dates with your fork.
REMEMBER YOUR ZEN
It’s impolite to just get up and walk away from a conversation, no matter how badly you want to; mentally escaping is much easier. When conversations start to get heated or controversial and you just need to get away, go to a safe place in your head. Think of something that makes you feel all warm and cozy. Snuggling up with your pup last Saturday, or last week when you went for coffee with your vina and met a cute guy. Mentally visualizing a serene space can help cool you off and collect your thoughts before your head spins out of control. You are not obligated to hash out politics just because someone comes at you with a loaded question. Instead, politely change the subject or let the other person know that this is your personal time and you are officially hitting the “politics free zone” button.
MAKE YOUR INTENTIONS CLEAR
When the topic of politics comes up, make your intentions clear. Whether you want to take a stance on a topic or would just rather keep your opinions to yourself, let people know. When people know that you have a specific opinion or idea, but aren’t trying to challenge theirs, it sets your boundary and keeps the conversation civilized. You are entitled to your opinion, but sometimes you just don’t wanna share it, which is totally valid!
Bottom line is: your vibes should never be killed by politics. Matters of the world we live in and the people we live among are incredibly important, and something we should all be involved in, but there is a time and place. And there is SO much more to life. Why not chat about the ’80s movie you saw for the first time last night, or a recipe you just found for making your own frozen yogurt, or a puppy dressed like Santa Claus?! The possibilities are endless! You have to let people know when they’re crossing the line of your politics limit! Setting some boundaries and keeping yourself together goes a long way. And when all else fails, you can always make an elaborate, unrelated exclamation about something completely random.
Looking for a vina to talk anything but politics with? Start swiping at Hey! VINA.
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