(no subject)
what if someone you loved and respected described you (often) as relentless? would you consider that an insult or a compliment?
similarly, if you were described as tenacious, how would you take it? praise or insult?
i was mostly hurt by being called relentless, even though the person (my lover) describing me as such was two-sided about it -- he called me that (i think) when he felt cornered, or put on the defensive (or something similar), but he also seemed to get a kick out of that aspect of my personality.
on the other hand, i practically preened when an entirely different person (who i respected but was not in love with) described me not as relentless (she actually tried to refute that label) but as tenacious. somehow, i saw tenacious as being a good thing -- a requirement for any of the successes i've had -- until i looked up the actual dictionary definitions. of course there is an aspect of tenacious that is positive, a good quality. but according to the various dictionary definitions at the above link, being tenacious is really not that much better (more positive) than being relentless.
*sigh*
needless to say, both descriptors as applied to me are accurate. i'm 46 years old now. at this point, as my whole entire life is up for analysis and rework (yeah, i'm probably in that mid-life crisis stage (still)), do you think i'm likely to change (much)? and if i did, what's similar to tenacious/relentless that's more upbeat, more positive? that is, what should i be striving for in that regard?
something to think about....
similarly, if you were described as tenacious, how would you take it? praise or insult?
i was mostly hurt by being called relentless, even though the person (my lover) describing me as such was two-sided about it -- he called me that (i think) when he felt cornered, or put on the defensive (or something similar), but he also seemed to get a kick out of that aspect of my personality.
on the other hand, i practically preened when an entirely different person (who i respected but was not in love with) described me not as relentless (she actually tried to refute that label) but as tenacious. somehow, i saw tenacious as being a good thing -- a requirement for any of the successes i've had -- until i looked up the actual dictionary definitions. of course there is an aspect of tenacious that is positive, a good quality. but according to the various dictionary definitions at the above link, being tenacious is really not that much better (more positive) than being relentless.
*sigh*
needless to say, both descriptors as applied to me are accurate. i'm 46 years old now. at this point, as my whole entire life is up for analysis and rework (yeah, i'm probably in that mid-life crisis stage (still)), do you think i'm likely to change (much)? and if i did, what's similar to tenacious/relentless that's more upbeat, more positive? that is, what should i be striving for in that regard?
something to think about....