A couple of months ago, after I finished crocheting a poncho for myself, a friend asked me if I would make one for her. She rarely asks for anything and I was happy to do it. She gave me the yarn and I got started. Around this time, she’d also said something about writing up and selling the pattern for the poncho in the store where she works. I thought, “OK,” but it was not really that important to me and I did not commit one way or the other.
About a week after I’d started working on it, I got a weird feeling, that she asked me to make it for her but she really wanted me to make it for the store to go with my pattern. Notice, I opened by saying that she rarely asks for things, so missing that cue is on me. Next time I went in I asked her about the request. She basically confirmed my suspicion and said, yes, it was for her AND for the store.
Sometimes it takes me a while to observe my own response. Let’s just say that this seeming manipulation of my energy did not go over well. I stopped working on the poncho for a few weeks and I haven’t finished it yet.
By being indirect with an intent to secure an outcome, 2 things happened:
- My enthusiasm for the project essentially disappeared.
- Trust and affinity was at least temporarily diminished.
Of course, nothing is for nothing. This experience showed me how finely tuned my response is.
When you ask a Generator for their our energy or a Projector for their insight, please be direct with your request. Using a bait and switch approach will backfire, either on us or on you, or both!